


Let's Restart

by Fallen_Ark_Angel



Series: Those Few Months [2]
Category: Along for the Ride
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 01:16:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 77,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallen_Ark_Angel/pseuds/Fallen_Ark_Angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Auden's back in Colby. What does that mean for Eli?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

I hadn't been to Colby since I broke up with Eli. Seeing as I ended things with him, I figured I should begin them there too.

It was three in the morning when I got to his apartment. Or what I hoped was still his apartment. God, that'll be embarrassing if it's not. Three in the morning and all… The only reason I was doing it now was because Eli's so nocturnal. Unless he's changed. I mean, I haven't seen him since winter. I had just finished my junior year and summer was just beginning. No telling what changes he's gone through. I know I've gone through my own.

The second I knocked on the door, I wanted to turn and run. I vowed that if he didn't come to the door, I would do just that. Then he had to go and answer.

Eli blinked in the darkness, seeming confused. He was dressed in an undershirt and boxers, his cute X-Men ones that I bought him for his birthday one year. Still, he just stood there, rubbing his eye. I was getting some kind of stench from him, but I wasn't sure what it was. Without saying a word, he finally took a step back, offering me entrance.

Slowly, as if unsure, I walked into the apartment. Eli still just stood there for a moment before moving to close the door, locking it behind him. Then he started for the bedroom, still not speaking to me. I paused, not sure if I should follow. Though I hadn't thought of it before, he could very well have another woman over. Which would be acceptable, considering the fact that we are broken up and have been that way for awhile now.

I heard the bedroom door close and Eli was back with a pillow and a blanket. In the darkness, I watched as he laid down on the couch. Then he looked at me. Nodding towards the bedroom, he made eye contact and held it. Finally I got the hint and went in there.

It looked pretty much the same, except for the fact that stuffed animals now littered the room. Thisbe's, more than likely. God, I hadn't seen her either. I hadn't seen anyone. My mother called regularly and my father did randomly, but besides them, the only person from my old life I spoke to was Maggie and that was because she lived with me.

Slowly, I took off my shoes before getting into Eli's bed. I think that's what he wanted me to do, sleep in here. I guess he figured that I didn't think that I would want to stay in the same bed with him. That was a safe bet on his part, considering the fact that I told him that I couldn't be around him anymore, that last day I saw him. That we had gone too far too fast and crashed. I had to save myself.

I laid in Eli's bed for awhile, trying to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I had come over to talk, not…this. I eventually pushed off the bed and went back to the living room. Eli was still on the couch, sleeping. I tried to find my voice, but it was harder than I thought it would be.

"Eli," I whispered when I located it. "Eli. Wake up."

He stirred slightly and I took in the fact that his head was shaven now. Not to mention he was trying to grow a beard. It made him look more grown up, more manly. Sitting up, Eli just stared at me, clearly confused as to why I was waking him up again.

"I want to be with you. That's why I came."

Eli held up the blankets, offering me my old place, on top of him. I didn't want  _that_  side of him. Still, it was something. Slowly, as if unsure, I climbed into my spot and Eli wrapped the blanket back around us. Then he settled down, closing his eyes again. I almost woke him back up, as this was not what I had come over for, but I didn't. Instead, I just cuddled against his chest, trying to be that girl I was a year ago, and went to sleep.

* * *

"Oh my God. Did we have sex?"

Frowning, I opened my eyes to see Eli staring down at me. "What?"

"Did we?"

"No."

It was now morning and the sun was coming through the blinds. I blinked a little, shifting on his chest. Eli pushed the blanket off me, making me stand up.

"Are you serious? What are you doing here?"

"What?"

Eli frowned, also getting up. For the first time I realized what I had smelt. Alcohol. Eli had been drunk. That made a lot of sense.

"Why are you back in Colby?" Eli put a hand to his head before heading to the kitchen. "I need an aspirin. Did we sleep together or not?"

"No, Eli. I have no idea what you did before I got here though, so fess up if you want."

He ignored that as I followed him to the kitchen. "Then did I call you or something?"

"I came to talk, because you're normally…you used to be up at three. I got here and you were apparently sleeping or something, because you just let me in and we slept on the couch."

Eli got a soda before downing it and a few pills. Once that was over, he faced me. "Then why are you here, Auden?"

"I thought…I just wanted…to…talk…"

"About what?" Eli pushed passed me, now headed towards his bedroom. I went after him.

"You know…like…are you dating anyone?"

"Why? Saved yourself yet?" He went over to his closet and pulled out a shirt.

My breath caught. "Eli, I didn't mean to make you…I mean…"

"It's not just about me, Auden. It's about your sister and your step mother, and my parents, and all your friends here. God, you just cut them all out of your life. I get me, I get that. I know that you couldn't be with me, God, if I didn't know that, but that little girl did nothing to you."

"Neither did you, I just needed-"

"Needed what? What about what all of us needed?" He pulled on his shirt, though his back was to me. Then he pulled on a pair of dark jeans. "Give me that belt near your feet."

The command shocked me for a moment, my brain trying to process it. When it did, I gave him what he asked for, trying to hold back the hurt that was on my face. Eli saw it though and sighed.

"Auden, you're the one that screwed us over."

I looked away from him as he came closer. "I haven't seen you in months. You'd think that you'd be happy to see me."

"I just…why are you here? To get back with me?"

"I don't know. I didn't think that was an option."

"Then why?"

"Because…Eli, you're the last person in Colby I saw. I figured that I should start where I ended."

He put on his belt while watching me, sighing occasionally. Then he slipped on his shoes.

"I have work. Come on."

"Come on?"

"What? You want to stay here?"

"No, but-"

"Then come on. I have to get to work, you can come."

"Why?"

"Heidi's across the street. I know you want to go in order of last appearance, but I don't think that my parents are really that important. Jake either. Go see Heidi and Thisbe."

"You can't just tell me what to do."

"You coming or not?" He left the room and I went after him. "Good."

The ride in Eli's truck was very awkward. On the driver side visor was one of…Clayton's ultrasound pictures. Eli didn't seem to notice my unease as he pulled out. When he noticed me staring at it, he reached up and untacked it.

"You wanna look at it?"

My voice had fled again. "No."

Eli shrugged, pinning it back up. Then he headed towards the boardwalk. It was then that I realized that my car was staying behind and I was either going to have to walk back or come back with Eli. I hope we're still on good terms later. Well, not that we're necessarily on good terms now, but you catch my drift.

"Heidi's not here yet. Huh." Eli got out of the truck and started for the bike shop. I stared at Clementine's for a moment before following him. Jake was behind the counter when we walked in.

"Okay, Eli, so I did what you said and talked to her, but- Auden." Jake jumped down from his stool, moving to hug me. I froze up, but did let him hug me. Jake held on for too long, but when he did let go, he was already back to the task at hand. "Anyways, Eli, she turned me down."

"You?"

"I know!"

They went off in the back so I just took Jake's spot at the counter. He had a Victoria's Secret catalog out on the counter which I shoved aside. I mean, he's at work. Come on. Sighing a little bit, I leaned my elbows heavily against the counter, staring at the door. About twenty minutes later, it opened.

"Eli, I wanted to drop Thisbe off for- Oh." I smiled a little as Heidi and Thisbe came into the shop. It was a nervous one though. Thisbe stared hard at me, as if trying to figure out if I was her sister. Then I remembered that I had dyed my hair darker and cut it. I must look different to her.

"Auden?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh." She ran to me suddenly, coming around the counter to be picked up. "Hi!"

I lifted her up, giving her a kiss on the head. "Hi. Did you get the birthday present I sent?"

She just cuddled into my lap, not speaking. I was afraid that she would get upset and cry, but instead, she just snuggling against my chest.

"I can't believe you're back," Heidi said, coming closer. I think she wanted a hug too, but I pretended to be concerned with Thisbe. Eli and Jake, having heard what was going on, came out of the back room.

"Eli, Auden's here," Thisbe told him, speaking a lot better than she had in December.

"I know," he told her, his frown still present. "I've got Thisbe, Heidi, so you can-"

"How long are you staying for, Auden?" Heidi asked, ignoring Eli. He clearly didn't like this, but didn't speak out on it.

"I don't know. I have an internship that starts in July."

"For what-"

"Auden, come on." Thisbe jumped down from my lap. "Wanna play? We can go home?"

I smiled more. "You talk so well now, Thisbe."

Eli snorted, but still didn't try to talk again. Thisbe just nodded, clearly wanting me to follow her though.

"Bye-bye, Eli. Bye-bye, Mommy. Bye-bye, Jake." She grabbed my hand when I stood up, attempting to drag me out of the store. "Say bye-bye, Auden."

I shook my head. "Heidi, can I take Thisbe for a little-"

"Yes, of course," she said, still just staring at me. Thisbe ran over to Eli, hugging his leg quickly before dragging me out of the store. "Come on, Auden."

"Where do you want to go?" I finally just picked her up as we made it to the street. "Huh?"

"Home, to go see my dog."

"You have a dog?"

She nodded, wiggling in my arms. "Auden, I want down. I'm not a baby."

"Fine," I said, shocked by this. I sat her down, but Thisbe immediately grasped my hand again, not wanting us to go without contact for too long. "What's your dog's name?"

"Ralph."

I frowned. "Ralph?"

She nodded. "Vinny and Eli gave him to me for my birthday."

That sure beat the hell out of my Scooby doll. "Oh. That's nice. You see Vinny a lot?"

She stared up at me for a moment. "Vinny lives here."

"Here? In Colby? Since when?"

"I dunno." She swung our hands a little. "Auden?"

"What?"

"Where have you been?"

I frowned a little bit. "At school."

"Weren't you at school before? You still came."

"I was, but…things got in the way." I squeezed her hand softly. "Let's not talk about it, okay? What have you been doing recently?"

"Eli teached me how to ride a bike."

I would have told her it was taught, but she was already speaking so much better than I was expecting that I didn't want to ruin it.

"Really?"

"Yep! And Jake is showing me how to skateboard, but it's hard."

"I bet," I said as she jumped over a puddle, using my hand as support. When we got to Heidi's, I was thankful that among all the changes that had happened recently, her locks were not among them.

"Ralph," Thisbe yelled as we walked through the door. Then, I was suddenly pounced upon by…this huge beast. He almost knocked me over.

"Down, Ralph!"

I was expecting a puppy, but for some reason, I had come face to face with a full grown dog. Closing the door behind me, I pushed the dog back, frowning down at him.

"Ralph likes you," Thisbe told me in earnest as the Golden Retriever mix began to inspect my shoes.

"Thisbe, I thought that Ralph was a puppy," I said as the dog now moved on to greet his little master. Thisbe, who was shorter than him, just patted his head.

"No, silly," she told me. "Puppies are baby dogs. Ralph is a grownup dog."

"Oh," I said, deciding not to tell her my real reason for confusion. "So…is Vinny your boyfriend?"

"Ew." She pushed my leg. "No! That's nasty."

"Is it?"

"Yes." She walked further into the house. "Auden, come see my room!"

"I've seen it."

"Daddy and Ms. Vicky painted it for me."

"Who?"

She glanced back at me and Ralph, who was rolling on Thisbe's discarded sandals. "Daddy's girlfriend."

"Oh."

She still saw my confusion, so she said, "Your mommy."

What had happened while I was gone? Did they all grow this much in my absence? If so, how? It didn't feel like it had been that long, but had it? It had nearly been six months, but the changes were enough to qualify for six years.

"Oh. She's here a lot?" I asked as I came to her bedroom. The brown and pink had given way to orange and hot pink. My mother did this? Who was she now? Ms. Vicky apparently is not the same Dr. Victoria West that I always knew.

"Not really." She pointed out her bed, which had The Hulk sheets. "Eli and Vinny bought those."

"I can tell," I said, the bed sheets seeming out of place in a clearly feminine bedroom. "Have you see Hollis recently?"

"Yep!" She jumped at the thought. "Him and Eli fought last time though, so he can't come anymore. Not until they both get timeouts."

I frowned at that, but didn't want to use her to get my gossip. That was low, even for the scum that hadn't seen her in six months, namely me.

"Ralph sleeps here," she said, pointing to the dog bed in the corner. "Ms. Vicky bought him the dog bed because she said that laying with dogs gives you fleas."

Again, all I could do was frown, trying to picture my mother picking out a gift for my half-sister. I couldn't fathom it.

"Do you like…my mom?"

"Ms. Vicky's nice," she told me, pushing Ralph off her bed when he clambered up there. "She buys me books. Eli reads them to me, sometimes."

"Does he?"

"And Jake." She jumped onto her bed, looking at me expectantly. When I sat down next to her, she said, "Vinny can read, but not as well as me! I'm amazing."

"Are you?"

"Yep. Eli says it's because I'm a girl, but Ms. Vicky yelled at him for that."

Glad to see my mother's hatred of Eli's still the same.

After spending a considerable amount of time with Thisbe and Ralph, I eventually met up with Heidi for lunch. Eli was noticeable absent, which upset Thisbe at first, but then Heidi told her that she could see him tonight, as Heidi had a date.

"Unless you wanted to do something, Auden," she said, still just staring at me. Honestly, Heidi's staring was starting to creepy me out. I mean, yeah, I hadn't seen her in a couple of months, but she's acting like I was dead and suddenly got resurrected. I just took some time off from everyone, that's all.

"Oh, no, that's fine," I told her, ignoring Thisbe when she stole one of my fries. We were where everyone in Colby seemed to eat, Last Chance. I was facing the window that showed the coast line, where I could see tourist already flooded the beach even though June had just begun. "I'm sure I'll have something do tonight."

"Eli and me are gonna go see a movie with Vinny."

"Are you?" I took a sip of my drink, now taking my turn in eyeing Heidi. She offered up no explanation for Vinny's sudden residence in Colby, but I couldn't be sure if that was because she didn't know, didn't want to discuss it, or just didn't realize that I didn't know.

"Yep!" Thisbe smiled at me. "Jake can't come because last time he threw popcorn a got throwed out."

"Thrown, honey," Heidi said absently as her phone went off. It was just a text though, which she took her time replying to. Then, when she looked back up, her eyes were on me again. Thisbe, who was sitting next to me, giggled a little, thinking this was a game.

"So how was the end of your junior year, Auden?"

"Good," I said slowly, wary of her undertones.

"That's good. I asked your father, but he didn't seem to know. Your mother either." Then she made a pinched face, as if she had made a mistake. "Oh, sorry. Robert told me that you didn't know about-"

"Thisbe told me."

"Did she?"

My half-sister nodded. "I told Auden about how Daddy and Ms. Vicky painted my room."

"They didn't paint it. They bought the paint. Eli and Jack painted it."

"Who's Jack?" I asked, thinking that it was some new guy from the shop. Heidi glanced at me, her gaze no longer so harsh and creepy. Thisbe was the one that answered though.

"That's her boyfriend," she told me.

"Oh, that guy you were seeing back in November?" I asked, not acknowledging December's existence.

"No, we broke up." She said this quickly, as if I of all people could possibly pass some sort of judgment. After what I did in December and the past few months, I don't think I can judge anyone anymore. No one in Colby at least.

"Oh."

I tried to pretend that I didn't care that I wasn't privy to this information, knowing that I honestly only had myself to blame. I mean, after all, I did cause all this by disappearing. And Heidi had been the most vigilant of everyone when I first took off; making sure to leave messages on my phone, emailing constantly, having Maggie relay messages, ect. Eventually, though, even she lost interest, which had been the plan from the beginning. I need space from all of them, not just Eli. I couldn't get my feels hurt now, after I my plan went off the way I planned.

The subject was quickly changed however as Heidi's phone rang this time. She excused herself before walking outside, leaving me alone with my sister.

"So what movie is Eli taking you to see?" I asked her as she tried to take another one of my fries. This time I batted her hand away.

"I don't know," she told me, frowning at the fact I wasn't sharing. "Auden? Can you stay over?"

"Hmmm?"

"It's Friday."

"And?"

"Vinny and me stay with Eli on Fridays."

"At his apartment?"

She nodded. "Jake too, when he's in trouble with Mrs. Karen."

I shook my head at the thought of him still living with his mother, but didn't voice it to the newly crowned four-year-old.

"Are you?" She repeated when I didn't answer.

"I don't know, Thisbe." Really, I had nowhere else to stay, so I didn't see myself having a lot of options anyways. I'm sure Heidi would be offering up her place, but I was having a stroppy time with her just from eating lunch together, what with her constant staring and cool answers. I did not want to add staying in her house to that equation.

"You can stay with Mr. Joe and Mrs. Karen," she offered up for them. "Jake isn't staying there no more anyways."

"How come?"

"Right now, he's in trouble."

"For what?" I asked, slightly agitated that she was just out right telling me. She shrugged and I realized that she probably didn't know anyways. After all, Jake wasn't her problem. Eli was.

Once lunch was over, Heidi took Thisbe over to the bike shop while I took a walk around town. I spent about an hour do nothing, just killing time. I thought about going back to Eli's, but I was afraid that he had gone back there. That meant I couldn't even go get my car, if only because he might be pulling up as I was there. So…I went to the store.

I didn't know what I was going to buy, but I felt that if I showed up at Eli's with groceries, even he was there, he'd have to be nice to me. I had just finished buying him hotdogs, which he basically lives off (or he did before. Who knew now?), and ketchup when I saw Karen. She was there with Joseph, who was busy trying to figure out which watermelon to buy. I knew walking by the fruits was a bad idea…

"Auden?"

I was busy looking at apples when she said my name. I knew her voice before looking up, but I still took my time.

"Oh. Hi."

Karen rushed to hug me, which she probably knew I wouldn't like, but I let it go, just this once. It was a quick hug anyways.

"Joey, look, Auden."

"I see and hear," he said, still tapping different watermelons. Karen dragged me away from my cart, over to her husband. "Hello, Auden. It's good to have you back."

"I'm just here for-"

"Have you see Thisbe yet? And Heidi?" Karen cut me off, clearly not wanting to think about me leaving again.

"Uh, yeah. Eli and Jake too."

"Ooh, you've seen Eli?" This seemed to perk her up, but Joseph just sighed.

"Karen," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Anyways, Auden, tell me which watermelon sounds hollow to you."

As I helped him figure out what watermelon to buy, Karen informed me of a party in a few days.

"It's a barbeque for Steven's birthday."

So Steven's here too. The girl side of me wanted to know what he was doing down here, apparently living here, but I was able to hold my questions down.

"Can you come?" She asked as Joseph put the watermelon we picked out in their basket. Then he patted me on the shoulder before walking off, headed to the oranges next. Karen rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll see."

"I'm sure Eli will invite you," she said, winking once before grabbing both my arms and holding them for a moment. "It's good to see you, Auden. Very good."

"I…Thanks."

Then she smiled at me before running off to go catch up with her husband who had somehow gotten to the cantaloupes. Shaking my head, I went back over to my own cart, figuring now was the time to checkout. I grabbed a box of cookies for Thisbe and Vinny before leaving. Luckily, I didn't run into them on the way.

When I got to Eli's, no one was there, so I just started putting away the few groceries I had. I was about done when he got there.

"And Auden said that Ralph was a puppy, but I told her that no, Ralph isn't a puppy, he's a grown up dog."

"Uh-huh," I heard Eli say, clearly not wanting to hear about me. I sighed, sticking my head out of the kitchen.

"Auden!" Thisbe saw me first and shrieked, running over to me. Eli grimaced a little.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I bought food. Thisbe told me that Vinny and her spend the night with you on Fridays, so I thought that I should buy you guys some treats. Hotdogs too. I was going to get ice cream, but- Stop, Thisbe."

She was pulling on my shirt, wanting my attention. "Can you ask him now?"

"Ask me what?" Eli asked, coming into the kitchen also. His arms were crossed over his chest, but I was more focused on his hair, which I still couldn't get over being gone.

"I don't know," I said, looking down at her. "What would I ask him?"

"If you can come," she hissed under her breath. "To the movie and the sleepover."

Eli frowned. "Did you want to go to the movie? It's just some animated movie that's out. I don't even know what it's about."

"No, I'm fine."

"Sleepover," Thisbe reminded, making me sigh.

"Do you want to stay with me, Auden?" Eli asked.

"I don't have anywhere else to go, Eli."

He shrugged again. "Then stay. I don't care."

We stared at each other for a moment, neither wanting to be the one to given in. Then Thisbe distracted us by running out of the room. Once she was gone, he came closer.

"Look, Auden, I don't know what you think is going on between us, but you're not going to play me again."

I pushed passed him and out of the room. "Whatever, Eli."

"Stop," he said, grabbing my arm a little too forcibly. Then I just stood there, letting him hold onto my arm while waiting for him to say something. He just held me there though, letting out a long sigh.

"Auden…"

"What?"

"…I missed you."

Then he let me go and was walking passed me, chasing after Thisbe.

* * *

Around six, we headed over to Karen's to pick up Vinny, but not before Thsibe convinced me to come. His siblings Jordan and Taylor weren't there, which was weird to me, but Eli offered up no explanation and I refused to ask him for anything. So that was that.

When we pulled up to his parents' house, Eli got out to get his nephew, returning quickly. Vinny had gotten taller since the last time I had seen him, but given the amount of changes that had gone on recently, I wasn't surprised. His hair was also getting darker and he looked more like his father now. He had a Power Rangers backpack on, which probably held his overnight stuff.

"Hi, Vinny," Thisbe greeted as he climbed into the car. Eli made sure he buckled up before getting into the driver's seat. "This is Auden."

"I know Auden," he said, smiling at me. "You're Eli's girlfriend."

He and Thisbe both started giggling about that one, but neither Eli nor I confirmed or denied this. I kept sneaking glances at the picture of Clayton Eli had taped up on his visor, trying to figure out how he dealt with staring at it. It made me feel sick.

"Okay, when we get to the movies, what are the rules?" He asked, turning down the music a little.

"No talking during the movie," Thisbe said.

"Bathroom break before previews are over," Vinny added.

"Right. And no throwing what?"

"Popcorn," they said in chorus.

"Good." Eli nodded his head a little. "What about snacks?"

"You'll buy us one big popcorn, but we have to share," Thisbe said. "We all get one soda or one box of candy. We can split it if we want."

"'less Thisbe has a cold."

"I don't," she complained, frowning at Vinny.

Eli shook his head, not saying anything to me as he turned the music back up. When we got there and got in line to get our tickets, I was prepared to buy my own, but Eli didn't even give me chance. Then, while we were in line getting our snacks, Thisbe complained about having to go to the bathroom, so I left Vinny with Eli and took her. When we met the boys back in the theater, Eli had two huge popcorns and three sodas.

"Sprite," he said, pointing to one of the seats where a soda sat in the cup holder. Thisbe sat down in that seat, which happened to be next to Vinny. I guess they both drank Sprite, because he took a sip before letting her take one. On the other side of Thisbe was a Coke, which was for me.

"How come there's two popcorns?" Thisbe asked as Vinny held the one he had away from her. "Hey!"

"Here." Eli reached over his nephew and handed me the popcorn. "The girls share that and we'll share this."

"I got us Sno Caps," Vinny said, shaking the box at Thisbe. Eli looked down at the two of them before over at me. I was kind of wishing that I could sit next to him, but I knew it was better this way, so we had both of them in our reach.

"I thought you'd want a soda instead," Eli said with a shrug.

"It's fine. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said indifferently, like we had no history.

The previews had just begun, but Thisbe and Vinny were already enraptured by them, staring at the previews as different cartoon characters paraded the screen. Eli settled down for a nap which was obvious by his position. For my part, I tried to watch the movie once it started, but it was hard. I mean, the plot was so basic and boring. Still, it entertained Thisbe and Vinny and that was all that mattered. They were still too young to go to those little kid movies where the plot was interesting enough for adults enjoy, but I liked hearing them and the other little kids giggle. Of course there were the crying kids and the ones that needed to be taken in and out of the theater constantly, but I think that that came along with going to a G-rated cartoon.

After the movie was over and we had another bathroom break, Eli took us out to eat. It was just fast food, but he still paid for me. While we were waiting for our food, Thisbe and Vinny went to play on the playground the place had, leaving Eli and I alone.

"So…how have you been?"

He glanced up at me from his phone. I wanted to know if he was texting a woman, but I wasn't sure how to find out. "How do you think?"

Okay… "Well-"

"Don't answer that."

I gave him a look. "Eli, I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Then let's talk about something real."

"Like what?"

He glanced outside, watching through the glass as Thisbe and Vinny crawled through the tubes of the playground. He was being very vigilant of them, which was…well…kind of sexy. Oh God, I'd been with out a guy for too long…

"Like what you really want to know."

'What do I really want to know?" I asked, frowning.

"I'm not seeing anyone, nor have I been," he told me, but didn't give me a chance to say anything as our order was called. He went to get our food while I went to get Vinny and Thisbe from outside. Dinner was quick and mostly silent, as far as Eli and I were concerned. The next time he spoke to me was when we were back at his place, settling to kids down to sleep.

"You want a sleeping bag?" He asked me as he rolled out Vinny and Thisbe's on the living room floor. Both kids were busy setting all their stuffed animals around the area, which was kind of creepy. "We've only got three."

"I can sleep on the couch."

"Auden, you can just sleep in bed," Eli told me, but I shook my head.

"Auden and Eli can share a sleeping bag," Thisbe said, making Vinny giggle. "Then they can kiss."

"Ew." Vinny pushed her a little as he put his toys on his Buzz Lightyear sleeping bag. Thisbe was already getting inside her Mario Brothers one.

"No," Eli said, frowning. "We can't."

I blushed a little bit. "I'll, uh, be in the bedroom."

Eli shrugged as he rolled out his own sleeping bag. I had brought my duffle bag in earlier and left it in his room. Going in there, I quickly changed clothes before going to the bathroom to brush my teeth. While I was in there, Eli walked in.

"Whoa, sorry," he said though he just stepped around me. "Have to take a leak."

"Eli."

"I closed the door."

"With me in here."

"You've seen it before." He didn't even look at me as he relieved himself, making me roll my eyes. After spitting in the sink, I left, about the same time Eli was done.

"So are you gonna sleep in the bed?" He asked, following me into the bedroom.

"If you want me to."

"Auden, I just want you to be…comfortable."

I glanced back at him. "Yeah, I guess I will."

"Are you going to bed now?"

"The kids are, aren't they?"

He went over to his dresser and started to pull all of his stuff out of his jean pockets. Then he dropped his jeans.

"Hand me those basketball shorts over there," he told me. "And, no, first they want to hear me tell them a story. You can skip that though. I just read a chapter of a Nancy Drew book to them or something like that."

"Do they understand it?"

"Not really, but Taylor had some, so I borrowed them. There's only so many times that I can explain what happens when you give a mouse a cookie."

"…What?"

"Its a little kids book."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Eli pulled on the shorts when I handed them to him, putting his phone in the pocket. As he was leaving the room, he pulled off his shirt, but all I saw was his back again. After standing there for a moment, I laid down in his bed and went to sleep.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

I didn't realize how tired I was until I was woken up by Eli, getting into bed. I groaned a little, but he shushed me.

"I'm just on my laptop," he mumbled to me. I rolled onto my stomach, on hand above my head, not sure why he had to be in here for that.

"Where are Thisbe and Vinny?"

"Gone. You slept late. It's one in the afternoon."

"Mmmm."

"College girl."

"Mmmhmm." I moved closer to him without thinking, now curled against Eli. He froze.

"Um, Auden, we're not-"

"Shhh," I mumbled, not sure when I became in control of something. Still, I just laid against him, not caring what Eli thought of me. I think it was because I was so tired. Not to mention the fact that I only had till July. I had to soak up my time with Eli while I had it.

"Auden, are we-"

"Does matter? You said you weren't with anyone anyways, right? And we're not doing anything."

"Oh, I know," he said, which I ignored.

"Let me just rest a little bit longer," I pleaded. Slowly, Eli ran a hand down my back before using it to push me closer to him. We laid like that for about an hour. When that was up though, so was Eli.

"I have to go," he whispered to me. "You wanna come?"

"Where?"

"I have to pick up Vinny from some boy's house."

"Who?"

"His name's Rich."

"Where's Thisbe?"

"With Heidi and Jack. They don't spend everyday together, you know."

"I just figured." I sat up a little bit, going to go get dressed. Eli was already dressed in his same dark jeans from yesterday and a different t-shirt. It was one I bought him, but I think that was just a coincidence.

"They do spend a lot of time together though." Eli waited as I dressed, apparently not sensing my unease about changing in front of him. "Since Vinny moved here, Thisbe's chilled out about being with me everyday at least."

"She has another friend now."

Eli paused. "Yeah."

After I finished dressing, Eli walked me out of the room, his hand on the small of my back as he led me outside. Not saying anything to each other, we got into his truck. As we were driving to the kid's house, I distracted myself by texting some of my college friends. Eli kept glancing over at me, but didn't ask who I was talking to.

After a moment, he spoke.

"I, uh, have your Christmas present, if you want it."

I looked at him, frowning. "What?"

"I was gonna mail it to you, but you said you wanted space and…I kept it, because…Well, I just have it when you're ready for it was the point."

"It's not….is it?"

"What?"

I nodded at Clayton's picture, making him frown.

"No, it's not baby stuff. Why would I give that to you?"

"I can't get why you'd buy me anything else."

"All of Clayton's stuff is, uh, in storage."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"Why didn't you just throw it out?"

Eli frowned over at me, turning the radio up. "Most people have hearts, Auden."

"Oh yeah, Eli, I don't have a heart for not wanting to think about-"

"Just stop, alright?" He glanced up at his visor, staring at her ultrasound. "Stop."

It was quiet in the truck when we pulled up to the boy's house, but Eli just got out of the truck to retrieve his nephew. As soon as they were in the truck, Vinny started asking to go to work with Eli.

"I'm not going to work today," he told him as he got back in the truck. "You're going back to Grandma's."

"No," he complained. "I wanna go to your house."

"You can't."

"Why?"

"I don't know, Vinny. Your dad wanted you at home, so you're going home."

He whined for awhile, but Eli just turned the music up. When we got to the Stock residence, he looked at me.

"Wanna get out?"

I rolled my eyes before doing so. Vinny ran into the house, angry with Eli. He just shook his head, following with me behind.

"Mom?" He called out as we came into the house. "Are you guys here?"

"In the kitchen."

Eli headed in there while Vinny ran off to the bedrooms. I went with Eli, finding Karen cooking something on the stove. Eli gave her a hug from behind before going over to the fridge.

"You're out of Kool-Aid," he told her.

"There's some packets over there and the sugars in the cupboard. Make it yourself, Eli." She glanced behind her and for the first time saw me. "Oh, Auden, you're here."

Eli shook his head. "She came back for-"

"I know she's back. I saw her yesterday."

Giving me a glance, Eli grabbed a pitcher to make his drink. "Anyways, Mom, what are you making?"

"Stew for dinner tonight. Why? Are you two staying?"

"I don't know about Auden, but I am."

"Oh, Eli," his mother said, thinking that his rude tone when speaking my name was one of his old jokes. I ran my hand up my other arm awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say. Thankfully, Vinny fixed that.

"Grandma, I want Eli to leave. Auden too," he said as he came into the room. She just shook her head at him.

"Be nice."

"Eli won't play with me. I wanted to go home with him."

"What did Auden do?"

"I dunno!" He climbed into one of the kitchen chairs. Then he frowned, looking at Eli. "Are you making cherry?"

Eli glanced at the packets he had just poured into the pitcher. "Yep."

"Ew! I hate cherry."

"Thisbe likes it," he said simply, now taking the pitcher to the sink to fill it up.

"Where is she anyways?" Karen asked as she turned away from the stove. She came to stand near me, running a hand down my arm. I didn't remember Karen liking me that much, but apparently, she realized how much she did after I left. I guess…

"With Jack and Heidi. I don't know what they're doing though." Eli glanced back at me. "You can go in the living room, Auden. We're staying for awhile."

Vinny jumped out of his chair. "Come on, Auden. You can put Dumbo on for me."

Really? I'm already getting that honor?

After figuring out how to work the ancient VHS player, I sat down on the couch with the little boy to watch about some stupid elephant. About twenty minutes in, Eli joined us, but he sat down in the chair. I was kind of hoping for some sort of contact between the two of us, given what we did when he first woke me up.

Then the crying started.

"What's wrong?" I asked as Vinny began to bawl. I had been texting Maggie and was shocked to hear his wails. "What happened?"

"Dumbo's Mommy can't stay with him," he whined, as Eli sighed.

"Stop crying, Vincent," Eli said with a frown. "You've seen the movie before."

"It's so sad." He turned to me, cuddling against my side. I froze, frowning down at Eli's nephew.

"Uh, Vinny? You wanna let me go?"

"Sad."

Besides Thisbe, I had no dealing with kids. Eli finally came over and sat on the other side of Vinny, though he didn't remove him from me.

"You miss your mommy, Vinny?" He whispered, but Vinny shook his head no. "You miss your sister and brother?"

"No," he mumbled against my side, getting his snot and tears all over it. I felt bad for him and everything, I really did, but he was way too close to me. Eli finally reached out to touch him, which meant his hand brushed my side very briefly. I closed my eyes a little, knowing I had enjoyed that too much.

"It's okay if you do," I told him softly. Eli glanced up at me with a look that told me to shut up; I didn't know what I was talking about. And I didn't. I had no idea where Kelly and her other kids were. It's none of my business, after all. Still, I forged on. "Everyone misses somebody."

Vinny sniffled loudly before pulling back to look at me. "Do you miss somebody?"

"Of course."

"Who?"

"Um…I don't get to see my brother Hollis a lot. And I guess I won't, now that Eli fought with him."

That made Vinny giggle a little. "Eli punched Hollis hard. Mrs. Vicky yelled at him and Mr. Robbie tried to make Eli leave."

Mr. Robbie, huh? I wanted to know more about this, but also didn't want to leave him still upset. "Tried?"

"Auden-"

Vinny cut his uncle off. "Ms. Heidi and Jack said he didn't have to."

I raised my eyebrows at Eli. "How come Jack doesn't get a title?"

"Title?" Vinny frowned.

"Like Mr."

"Oh. He's really cool, Auden. He brings Thisbe candy and when I asked for some, he started bringing me some too! He gives Thisbe lots of gifts. Like toys and stuff. He's really nice."

"That good."

"Uh-huh." He sniffled as he sat up. Then he looked back at the movie. "I don't wanna watch Dumbo no more."

"That's fine," Eli said, still staring at me. I think he was shocked that I knew about the fight. "Why don't you go in the other room and talk to Grandma? Go help her do the dishes."

"I don't-"

"Go, Vinny." Eli patted him on the head. As soon as he was in the other room, Eli moved closer to me, staring into my eyes. "What do you know about me and Hollis? Or your parents? Even Jack for that matter?"

"Nothing," I said, frowning. "It's just all things that Thisbe mentioned in passing, honest."

Eli bit his lip, staring at me. "Your brother got what he was asking for."

"Just like my father did, right? That day you punched him?"

"What?"

"Back before I left."

"Really? You're throwing that time in my face? Seriously?" He frowned, lowering his voice as we heard Karen singing some sort of silly song in the kitchen, exciting Vinny. "Compared to what you did, what I did is nothing."

"All I did was leave, Eli."

"That's all?" He snorted before standing. "Why don't you just take off, Auden? I don't want you here."

"You're not just going to run me out of Colby."

"What?" He turned to face me. "That's not what I-"

"If you didn't want me back here, that's all you had to say. You didn't have to freaking let me stay in your house you know." I stood up too, headed to the door. "I'm not leaving though. I'll just take my stuff and not come around you anymore. My sister though is still mine. You can't-"

"I meant the house, Auden. I meant that I wanted you to go home. My apartment or whatever. I just don't want to be around you right now."

I paused at the door. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"…You still can't tell me what to do."

"I'm not trying to. This is my parents' house though. If I don't want you here, you should just-"

The door suddenly opened and I jumped back, running into Eli. Who else to walk through the door other than Joseph Stock?

"Whoa! Auden! You're here. And Eli too. Can I assume Vinny is also?"

"Yeah," Eli said, reaching around me, holding me to him. "He is."

"Jake?"

"You guys kicked him out. I think he's staying with Wallace this time."

"I just figured he'd be back by now."

"Nope."

"Hmmm." Joseph smiled at me before stepping around Eli and I, calling out for his wife. I heard Vinny giggle as his grandfather went into the kitchen to be with them. Then it was just me and Eli, who was still holding me to him. I shrugged him off before turning to face him.

"What exactly do you expect me to do all alone at your apartment?"

"I don't know," he said, staring down at his feet. "Honestly, I'm still kind of in shock."

"About what?"

"You, Auden. I thought….we all thought…you'd just….move on." He looked up into my eyes, but his were hard. Apathetic. Then he was turning away, headed towards the kitchen. "Stay, don't stay, I don't care. Just don't get on my nerves."

"Eli," I heard Karen scold from the kitchen, which he was now stepping into. Peeking in there, I saw that she was making Joseph and Vinny a snack to tide them over until dinner time. She saw me watching and said, "Auden, you can stay. Eli's being an idiot."

He just headed out into the backyard, the door banging behind him. I stared into the kitchen for a moment, hating the way the three remaining Stocks were looking at me.

"No, it's fine," I called out to her, turning around to face the door again. "I should…I have something to do. Thanks for the offer though."

When I got outside, I realized just how long of a walk it would be back to Eli's. True, Colby wasn't that big, but when you're depressed and alone, any journey seems like a long one. I was only about halfway there when Eli's truck pulled up beside me on the otherwise empty road.

"Get in," he grumbled as he rolled down his window. I just stared for a moment. "Well?"

Once I was in his car, Eli just took off, not even saying anything to me. When we passed Gas/Gro without stopping, I figured we wouldn't be going very far anyways.

"You make it so damn hard, Auden."

I was shocked when he spoke to me ten minutes later. "Huh?"

Eli just shook his head a little. I went back to leaving against the window, sighing a little bit.

"I don't know what you want me to do, Eli."

Taking his time to respond, he countered with, "Do you want to be together?"

"Do you?"

"I don't know," he whispered. "You did me wrong. Real wrong. I mean, I've done stuff to you, but leaving like that? Hurting everyone? That's low."

"I know."

"I mean a month is one thing, two months is iffy, but a whole six months? Auden…you could have been dead. If it wasn't for Maggie, none of us would have known a damn thing about you." Eli was gripping the steering wheel tightly, staring straight ahead. "I lost Clayton and I lost you."

"Eli…"

"Don't," he whispered. "Just don't."

"I just want to-"

"No."

"Eli, nothing changes if you don't let me talk."

"What could you possibly say, Auden? Nothing that will change anything." He sighed loudly, but I kept up.

"I'm sorry, Eli, but it was better for me to-"

"Better for you? For you? Great, Auden. You got to go out and forget this ever happened while the rest of us were stuck here, no chance of that ever happening. You know, you acted like I wasn't hurting too."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Admit to it!"

"Fine, Eli! I left you, okay? I fucked you over, okay? Okay?" I sniffled a little.

"Oh, no, don't you start crying. You always do that."

"Do what?"

'Whenever I'm mad, you start bawling. It won't work this time." He snorted. "You had your chance to cry back in December, when we were together. You caused this. You-"

"You think that I wanted Clayton to die, Eli? Because I didn't," I said, now even closer to crying. "You think that I don't blame myself every day? I mean, God, Eli, you didn't kill Clayton. My body did. I did. I lost her, okay? Not you. Stop trying to make it sound like you know exactly what's going on with me because you don't. You're not guilty. I am."

He was quiet for a minute, letting my words engulf both of us. "Auden, I don't blame you."

"Bullshit."

"I'm serious. I've told you that before."

"You just said-"

"I meant that it was your fault for leaving, not for what happened to…" Eli sighed loudly, finally pulling the car over to the side of the road. Then he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face me. "Is that what you think? That I think that that was your fault?"

"…Yeah…" I looked off a little.

"Look at me." He leaned over the console and grabbed my chin, forcing me to follow his order. I didn't put up much of a resistance anyways. "This wasn't your fault, okay?"

"Eli-"

"Say it."

"I don't-"

" _Say it_."

"It wasn't my fault," I mumbled. Then he shocked me by kissing my head, lingering for a moment before pulling back. We just sat there after that, neither speaking. After a moment, Eli started the car and turned around.

"We're going back to my mom's. Well, I am. Do you want to?"

I just shrugged.

"I don't feel like making dinner," he said simply. When we got there, neither of us left the car for a minute. Then I unbuckled my seat belt, snapping Eli into action. He led me into the house though we weren't speaking to each other. All I could think about was his lips on my forehead.

"You're back," Joseph said as we walked into the living room. "Good. Dinner'll be ready in soon. Eli? Do you know when Jake's going to get back from Wallace's?"

"Dad, I told you, he's living there."

"Come now, Eli, you don't really think he's staying there, do you?"

I left them to their conversation, instead heading into the kitchen. Karen was sitting at the table, listening to Vinny as he read to her from a picture book. She seemed bored, but Vinny didn't notice as he stumbled along with his words. Karen nodded me towards the chair next to them, but I shook my head, heading out into the backyard. Sitting down on the porch steps, I sighed a little bit, wrapping my arms around myself.

"Is it time to eat yet?"

I jumped as the bush in the corner of the yard spoke. "Jake?"

He poked his head out. "When it is time, can you bring me a bowl out here?"

"I thought that Wallace was letting you stay with him?"

"We got into a fight. I've been in the backyard, waiting for dinner. I don't think I'm allowed to come in, so I'm hiding."

"Are you just going to sleep in the yard? You can come over to Eli's."

"I don't want him to know that I got into a fight with Wallace."

I frowned. "So you're going to sleep out here tonight?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm going to wait for Mom and Dad to fall asleep and then go inside."

"Jake, I don't think they'll mind if you just apologize for whatever it is you did."

"It's not that simple, Aud."

"I think it is."

"Nah. You don't understand my family."

"I think I do, Jake. I was almost a part of it."

"Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."

"Okay…well, I think I'm going back in now that I know you're out here hiding in a bush." I stood up. "Just, um, one thing."

"What?"

"Why aren't you in shed instead of…you know what? Never mind. Stay in the bush."

"Thank you."

When I got back inside, Vinny was still sitting at the table reading, but in Karen's place there was now Steven. He smiled when he saw me, interrupting Vinny's story to say something.

"Auden," he greeted. "I heard you were back in town."

"Just for a little while."

Vinny frowned at me, putting a finger to his lips. "I'm reading. Shhh!"

"Vinny, don't be rude," his father corrected, patting his son on the back.

I went into the living room where Joseph and Eli were watching something on TV. I sat down on the couch with Eli, though I made sure to leave the middle cushion open, yet again unsure of our boundaries. Every step forward it seems like a fight pushes us back.

"Joey, can you come here for a second? I need you to get something down off the closet shelf for me," Karen called from somewhere else in the house.

"Shhh," Joseph said, doing the same motion with his finger that Vinny had done earlier. "Pretend you don't hear her."

"Joseph, I can hear you! Now come here."

Groaning, he got up for his chair before walking off, leaving Eli and I alone. We were both quiet for a few seconds before I spoke.

"So…Steven lives here now?"

"Just till he finds a place."

I glanced down at my left and his right hand, noticing that they were both on the middle cushion, but not touching. Eli followed my stare, but didn't do anything to fix it. He also didn't shed any light on the other things I was wondering about Steven and Vinny's appearance in Colby, but I don't think he's going to without me bringing it up first. Which I won't be doing anyways.

"Even with Jake here?"

"Jake's with Wallace, I told you." He frowned at the look on my face. "What do you know?"

"Nothing."

"Hn." Turning back to the television, he moved his hand so that his arms were now crossed over his chest. I leaned against my own arm, also shifting my position. When Joseph came back, he was carrying a box for Karen as she followed along, complaining about something he had said apparently. Curious, Eli left to go find out what they were doing.

"What's in the box?" He asked as Karen opened the front door. I got up and followed the three of them, also interested. "Jake's stuff?"

He got a look from his mother though when she saw me behind them, she smiled.

"No," she said as we all went over to the car. "It's a box of things that Janice wanted."

"Janice?" I asked, but Joseph just looked back at me and rolled his eyes.

"She's the most annoying woman on the planet, Auden," he told me.

"Oh, Joey, stop it."

"She is," Mr. Stock defended. He went over to Karen's car and put the box on the roof before opening the passenger side door and opening it, now setting the box in there. "One time, we went to a Christmas party-"

"I hate this story, Joseph."

"-and she started to tell me about how her first husband cheated on her."

I glanced at Eli as he moved back to stand next to me. "What's so bad about that?"

"Everyone in town knows that her first husband did not cheat on her. She was cheating on him."

"Joseph, stop it."

"So," he said, talking over her. "I told her. Then she flipped out on me! And ever since, every single time I see her, she's just out right rude to me. In my own house even! I can't stand her."

"Thank you for sharing, Joseph," his wife said, frowning.

"So what's in the box then?" Eli asked.

"Clothes that I'm giving her. I meant to a month ago, but she was out of town, so I just put the box-"

"You know where she was, Auden?"

Apparently, Joseph was going to use my naivety as a chance to dish about Janice.

"No," I said as Eli sighed, clearly tired of listening to the Janice discussions.

"Vacationing. In Aspen. Have I ever taken my wife to Aspen? No? I must be a horrible person then."

"Joey, you're really-"

"Eli better take you there, someday, because if he doesn't, he's apparently going to rot in Hell for it."

Eli kicked up a little dirt, not saying anything about our relationship. Well, lack there of.

"I mean, God," his father went on, "she basically crucified me for it. We live in a beach town. That is a vacation every day of your life! Remember that, Eli, when this one wants to go somewhere."

"I've been to Europe," I offered. "My mother and I."

Eli shook his head at me. "Don't mention-"

"Oh, she's been to Europe. She-"

"Joey, honey, I have to go now." Karen patted him on the shoulder. "I told her I'd be there in ten minutes, but that was before your long story. Now, can you come with me or not?"

"Well, Auden wants to hear my story."

"I think she can manage without a bitter old man's spurned advances."

Joseph flushed. "I asked her out once in high school, Karen. That has nothing to do with-"

"Let's go back inside," Eli said to me, turning on his heels.

"Stir the stew, please," Karen called after him before looking at me. "The moral of the story is, Auden, don't marry a bitter man."

"I'm not bitter!" Joseph got in the passenger side, still grumbling. I smiled at Karen before going back into the house. Vinny was in the living room now, playing with some toy cars. Eli was gone though, but I didn't feel like finding him.

"What are you doing, Vinny?"

"Playing truck driver. That's what I'mma be. A truck driver."

'What kind of truck?"

"A fire truck. I'mma be a fireman." He looked over at me as I sat down on the couch. "Daddy's gonna take me and Thisbe to the beach tomorrow."

"What about Eli?"

"I dunno. I don't think he asked Eli." Vinny looked around, as if checking for someone, before looking back at me. "Daddy and Eli are fighting."

"Oh," I said. Like with my sister, I didn't want to get my gossip from him. I think that it's just wrong to get that kind of information from children. Shameful, really. "So are you and Thisbe friends?"

"The best," he told me, rolling an eighteen wheeler around. "'cept for when she stealed my skateboard."

"She did that?"

"Uncle Jake did. He took it and gave it to her without asking! And when I told Grandma, she told me I had to learn to share. That I don't even use my skateboard."

"Do you?"

"No," he admitted. "It's still not fair!"

"No, it's not," I agreed. "But you guys still have fun together, huh?"

"Yep. Even if she is a girl." He suddenly stared hard at me for some reason. "Thisbe said that Ms. Vicky is your mommy."

I was still having trouble seeing my mother, Dr. Victoria West, being called 'Ms. Vicky' by four year olds. It was scary, too, knowing that these few months could change her so much. I knew that I too had been changed by them, but had it been to that degree?

"She is," I told him. "Do you like her?"

He shook his head a little. "She called me ignorant!"

"Why?"

"Because I told Thisbe that she couldn't run as fast as me 'cause she's a girl." He frowned at the memory but then smiled. "One time though, her and Mr. Robbie took us to get ice cream."

"That's nice of them."

Nodding, he opened his mouth to say something again, but then Eli walked into the room.

"Where were you?" I asked, wanting to change the subject so that I wouldn't have to think about my parents.

"Planning our trip to Aspen."

I just stared for a second, trying to figure out if I should joke with him or not. "That's gonna set you back."

"Not as much as our Europe trip."

I wanted to smile at him, but Eli's wouldn't look at me as he sat down on the couch. Vinny jumped up after a moment, running off. When he came back, he had some stuffed animals.

"What are you doing?" Eli asked him.

"Scar wants to be a truck driver too," he said, putting a stuffed bear on the eighteen wheeler.

"Scar?" I mumbled to Eli, but he just shook his head. This time, for some reason, he's sitting closer to me. Still, there's most of the middle cushion between us, but not as much of it.

"You stir the stew?" I asked after a moment of watching Vinny play.

"I did."

"Good boy."

"Just working for my treat."

"The Aspen treat?"

"No, my treat will be you not hating me and sentencing me to Hell."

I smiled at him this time, unable to control myself. "Is this woman really that bad or is your father exaggerating?"

"My mother doesn't think so, but, uh, she kind of has a thing for…degrading men. Personally, and mind you this is a theory thought up by my father, he thinks she's secretly a lesbian."

"Does he now?"

"He tried to coax her out of the closet once."

"Bet that went over well."

"He slept on the couch for months."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

When I looked back towards Vinny, I noticed that he and his toys were now missing. Eli didn't seem that concerned, so I ignored it and watched TV. It's on the news, but I didn't mind. It was at least CNN and not local, so it was interesting.

When Joseph and Karen got back, neither was talking, so I could tell that something was wrong. Eli could too, apparently.

"What's going on?" He asked, taking in their expressions.

"I told him to wait in the car."

"I'm giving some of my wife's clothes, that I bought with my hard earned money-"

"I worked too-"

"-and I'm going to wait in the car as she gives them off to some man hating whore-"

"Joseph!"

And then it was silent. I felt extremely awkward in the Stock house, more than I ever had. Joseph take a deep breath before looking at me.

"In short, Auden, take that trip to Aspen."

He got hit in the arm for that one before Karen walked off into the kitchen, clearly angry. I could hear Steven asking what was wrong in there, but in the living room, no one was speaking. Then Eli tried.

"Dad-"

"I just hate being over there. So much. And then your mother-"

"I was going to say that I'm going to need a loan."

Joseph turned to look at us. "What?"

I glanced at Eli, feeding off him. "We have enough for Aspen, but not Europe."

Eli nodded. "Can you help out? You wouldn't want me rotting in hell, after all."

Blinking, his father sat down in his chair. Then he smiled that big smile at us that he always has. "I can't even save myself from that fate, son."

Eli shook his head. "Guess I'll have to go bankrupt after all."

"Not a worse fate than Hell," I told him.

Glancing down at our hands like had earlier; Eli grasped mine in his own. "Definitely not."

* * *

After dinner, Eli and I headed home. Due to school, I was used to going to bed at night instead of staying up late. Morning classes will do that to you. Eli was still up for his nocturnal bit, so as I went to take a shower, he called anyone and everyone, trying to make plans. When I got back out to the living room, he was there still, sitting on the couch.

"No luck?" I asked as I headed into the kitchen for a soda.

"None what so ever."

"Maybe you're not meant to go out tonight."

Eli shrugged as I came back into the room. "There's a Halloween movie marathon movies on."

"Like Halloween or-"

"Like Jason, Auden."

"Oh."

"I guess that I can spend the night watching that."

"You could."

"I mean, I don't want to leave you alone in the apartment and all. You're going to bed, huh?"

"Not yet." I sat down next to him. "I think I can handle one movie before I go. Which remake is on? And of which one?"

So we settled down to watch a few movies. I actually made it through half of the second one before heading to his room to go to bed. I didn't fall asleep immediately, but it is pretty quick. When I woke up, it's become of someone stumbling around in the dark.

"Wha-"

"Shhh, Aud, it's just me."

I faintly registered that that was the first time Eli's called me something even remotely affectionate.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for something. Shhh."

"Are you gonna sleep in here? You want me to take the couch?"

"No to both, now go back to bed."

After he left with his laptop, I found it hard to follow his request. When I got out to the living room, he was on the couch, all the lights off, but the television on as he checked his UMe page. He didn't even look as I sat down next to him.

"You get tired of the movie marathon?" I asked, taking in the fact that he was now watching some cartoon.

"Huh?" He looked up and then said, "Oh, I must have sat on the remote."

"Sure, try to cover it."

He just handed me the remote. "Watch what you want."

As I flipped through the channels, Eli went through his photos, clearly looking for something. I glanced at the screen, watching as photos of his family and mine flew by.

"My mother and father seem happy," I mused. Eli stopped on the photo I was talking about.

"That was Thisbe birthday party."

"Wow. They came?"

He nodded. "It was in Heidi's backyard. There's Ralph."

I could see his tail in the end of the photo, which was of Heidi cutting Thisbe's cake while all the other guest stood around.

"Jake came?"

"Why are you so shocked?" He smiled at me. "Jake's been…really involved in life recently. Not drinking as much, actually showing up work."

"Yet he got kicked out."

"He's working on life. He's not a master yet."

We flipped through some more photos, which eventually changed from Thisbe's party to random ones. Once we hit a certain point though, he changed the screen back to his statuses.

"You took me off your UMe," Eli said after a moment.

"I haven't updated it anyways."

"I'd like to be back on it."

"I'd like for you to be too." I almost leaned against his arm, but then I thought better of it. Again with the boundaries thing.

"You know, you didn't even have one until you met me," Eli mentioned for some reason.

"I know. You made me get one."

"I was helping you become less anti-social."

"Sure you just didn't want to keep tabs on me while I was at Defriese?"

"That was a plus, I'll admit. You never post much anyways."

"Social networks aren't my thing."

Eli nodded a little as he typed in a new status. "You're a more personal person."

"I really am."

I saw his status and smiled a little bit.

_The Halloween movies suck. All of them._

"You really think that?"

"I really do."

"A lot of people would kick your ass for that."

"A lot of people don't have lives."

"Do we?"

"Yep," he said as he shut his laptop. "We do. Well, I do."

I turned off the television as he left the room to put up his laptop. When he returned, Eli had a blanket and pillow to make up his bed on the couch. He was also only in a pair of basketball shorts, letting me see his chest for the first time.

"What's that?"

He frowned at me, putting the pillow down. "What?"

There was only darkness around us, so I couldn't make out what it was on the upper right part of his chest, but I knew from the moonlight there was something. As he moved to lay down on the couch, I climbed into his lap, putting my hands on his stomach as he settled on the pillow, the blanket at his feet.

"Your chest," I mumbled, staring at it as Eli moved his hands to rest on my waist, holding me there. I stared at the tattoo, feeling my breath leaving me. "Eli..."

I reached up, running my hands over it. It was a bear, a teddy bear, taking up the right part of his upper chest. The bear was holding a yellow banner in its rounded off paws, something written on it.

"Clayton," I mumbled when he took a breath in and his chest rose enough for the moonlight to fall on it just right. Her name was printed out on the banner in thick red letters.

"I love her," Eli told me simply before moving to grab my hands. Then he made me move them and lay down on his chest, just as quickly moving to pull the blanket up around us. When I was flat against his chest, I started crying for some reason. This made Eli frown, taking my face in his hands, pulling me up to look at him.

"Why are you crying?" He whispered. "It's okay. Clayton's okay now. …We're okay now."

Then he kissed me for the first time in months and I wanted to give him everything, right then. I didn't though, instead pulling back and hiding my face in his chest. Slowly, Eli patted me on the back, his breathing becoming regular again.

I knew that he wouldn't find sleep for a few more hours, but I was selfish, and went to sleep on his chest. Eli never once woke me up by moving. In fact, I don't think he moved at all. He just laid there underneath me, rubbing my back while listening to me breath, not even speaking.

And just like that I was full on in love with him again.

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

I was resting on Eli's chest, still somewhat asleep. I could feel his hand stroking my head and his chest rise and fall in time with his breathing. His lips were ghosting over my hair, but that was due more to our position than the fact that he was trying to kiss my head.

A knock on the door roused Eli even though the sunlight was just streaming through the window. He should have been asleep, but my tossing and turning must have woken him up. I snuggled more into him, having missed the feeling of being so close to someone, so intimate.

"Come in, Jake," he called out lazily, a yawn escape with his words. "It's unlocked.

"Okay, but it's me."

Before either of us could move, and I didn't even try, the front door opened to reveal his mother, who was carrying grocery bags. At first she was frowning, as it was still kind of dark in the living room. When she made out the two of us, she said oh and tried to close the door.

"We're just sleeping. We fell asleep watching TV last night," Eli told her, sitting up, making the blanket fall down me a little, which revealed the fact I was still fully clothed. "You can come in. Get up, Auden."

I moved off his body, but stayed on the end of the couch as Eli stood up. His basketball shorts had ridden up a little bit, but quickly fell back down.

"What are you doing here, Mom?"

"Before you left, Eli, you told me to come over in the morning to make the cakes and brownies for your brother's party. It's tonight."

"Oh, man, I forgot." He stretched a little before looking at me. "You can go back to bed, Auden, if you want."

His mother turned on the living room light and when I stood, Eli turned to face me, giving me the first clear sight of his tattoo. It wasn't hideous, like tattoos that some guys get. It made me think back, only for a moment, of that day when Jason told me that his last girlfriend left him for a delinquent welder with a tattoo. Only for a second though.

"I can help," I said, but Karen shook her head.

"I've seen your cooking, Auden."

Eli reached out and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "She can at least stir the mix. If you want to stay up."

"I do." I ran a hand down my arm, staring at him, but Eli just smiled at me. Stepping out of his hold, I excused myself to go get dressed. Eli, however, seemed content with just shorts on, so I didn't bring him a shirt when I got back out there. And, okay, maybe I wanted to stare at the tattoo a little longer. Part of me was having trouble excepting it while the other part was excited by it. Also a little scared though, to be honest. It was just another change I would have to get used to.

"This will be your first time meeting Jack, Auden," Karen told me as I sat down at the table. Eli, who was cutting up a pineapple, slipped me a cup of coffee.

"You take it the same?"

"Of course. Black as night."

"God, I love that."

His mother shook her head a little. "Eli, get back to work on that pineapple."

I took a sip of my coffee. "What are you going to do with it?"

"You've never had cake with pineapples in it?" Eli glanced over at me as he went back to his counter. "Missing out, Auden."

"Then I guess I'll have to catch up today, Eli."

Karen sat a bowl in front of me. "Can you stir that, please?"

"Sure." I sat up a little. "What else is in the grocery bags?"

"We have to cut that dang watermelon that Joseph bought."

"Joseph? Not Joey?" Eli teased her, which got him a swat on the arm. "This is child abuse."

"You're not a child."

"I'm your child."

"Well then, I need you to do something for me today."

"Besides skipping my plans of sleeping in so that I can make desserts for a party I don't want to go to?"

"I need you to let Kelly drop Taylor and Jordan off here."

"Mom, I don't want to see her-"

"Eli, someone has to do it. If she drops them off at my house, there's a very good chance that Steven will get back from the beach early and Vinny will flip or Steven and her will get into a fight."

"Yeah, but last time you made her drop them off here and she freaking invited herself in and then wouldn't leave! She kept talking and talking. I don't like her, Mom."

Karen sighed before glancing back at me again. I thought that she wanted the bowl back, but then she asked, "Auden?"

"What?"

"What if Eli leaves and is already at the party when she drops them off?"

"Then who will be here?"

Eli frowned over at me. "Glad to see that Defriese education shinning through."

"Oh, you want me to? But I've only met her once. And I don't think Taylor likes me very much…"

"She doesn't like anyone," Eli said, shaking his head.

"Eli."

"She doesn't, Mom."

"Kelly doesn't like me either," I went on, but I knew I was stuck. "At Thanksgiving, she was very rude-"

"Oh, God, wasn't she?" Karen hadn't meant to let that slip, but quickly corrected herself. "I mean…well, it doesn't matter now. She won't be coming to anymore Thanksgivings. Kelly, I mean, not you, Auden."

I glanced at Eli, wondering if I would be coming to other family events with his permission, not just Karen's. Sighing a little, Eli came over to me and took the bowl.

"You'll be fine, Auden. After that trashing you gave Belissa that time, I think you can handle yourself."

"What?"

I pushed him slightly as he took the bowl over to a pan to pour it in there. "Nothing."

"You and Belissa fought?" Karen looked at me, this time, turning around fully.

"No," I said, rolling my eyes. "It was before Eli and I were even dating."

"I always liked Belissa," she told Eli, but he shrugged.

"She's married now."

"Oh, I know. I was invited to the wedding."

"Oh goody." He put the pan in the oven. "Hope you can be there for the divorce."

"See, Auden? There's your Janice."

"Difference is, I had my fill of Belissa. I broke up with her."

"Not the way I heard it," I mumbled, which got me a look.

"So what happened between you and Belissa?" Karen asked as she began to make another bowl of mix, this time the brownies. "I never heard anything about that."

"It was nothing, really," I said as Eli came to sit next to me. "It was before Eli and I were even dating and Maggie took me to a party at Belissa's house. I didn't even know who she was. Then, Eli came over and we talked."

"Auden ate a cupcake."

"I did not. You ate it." I shoved him a little bit. "Remember?"

"Kind of."

"One that I brought with me, from Gas/Gro." I elbowed him. "Anyways, Belissa saw and when I walked outside, she accused me of flirting with Eli. I told her that I wasn't, mainly because I honestly wasn't, but then she started to yell at me that he was her boyfriend and who was I to flirt with him."

"That's all?"

"Oh, no, Mom, that's not even the best part," Eli took over from there. "So she asked Auden who she thought she was and Auden tells her."

"Tells her what?"

"Her full name."

Karen glanced at me. "Why?"

"I thought that she honestly wanted to know." I sat up a little bit straighter. "Then she called me a skank and asked what kind of name Auden was."

"And Aud starts to tell her." Eli pushed my arm. "Right? That's what you said."

"I did."

"But…why?" Karen laughed a little, looking at Eli.

"Auden's not very experienced. That's the whole reason she went to the party." Eli grabbed my coffee cup and took a sip before frowning. "Ew."

"You knew it was black, you made it for me."

"Belissa called you a skank though?" Karen frowned. "That doesn't sound like her."

Eli snorted. "You mean the her that she puts on."

"She's street," I said, which got me a look from Eli. "I mean, besides getting her jeans dry-cleaned. Right, Eli?"

"What did Belissa do when you started to tell her where your name is derived from?" His mother asked, still wanting to hear the end of the story.

"Points for derived," Eli muttered.

"Nothing," I told her. "Maggie dragged me away, so I guess she thought she won."

"But, she didn't," Eli mumbled to me as he moved his hand under the table, cupping mine with it. I froze for a moment before interlacing our fingers, making him smile down at my coffee cup.

"You were already broken up with her, Eli?" Karen asked, making us look back at her.

"Yeah."

"Then why did you go to the party?"

He shrugged. "I didn't have a lot to do. Besides, it was a big house; I never thought she'd see me."

"You know you were stalking me."

"Hardly." He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. "Although, maybe, Wallace told me that Maggie and Leah were going to Belissa's party. And maybe he told me girl that was all over Jake was there-"

"I was not-"

"These stories of your first summer here keep getting more and more bizarre, Auden," Karen told me. "So now you were with Jake?"

"No, not really," I said, giving Eli a look that told him if he mentioned my first time, he was dead. "It was just…Jake is very persistent."

Eli laughed a little bit. "Is that what he is?"

"You know he is."

Leaning closer to me, Eli whispered, "But I came out on top."

Then he kissed my head quickly before standing up, slowly releasing my hand.

"You guys hungry?" He asked, going over the fridge. "I am."

"Your father made breakfast this morning."

"So yes?"

Karen just laughed at him as Eli got out the milk. I got up to help him with whatever it was he was doing, but he just made me stand there as he made pancakes.

"What time is the party?" I asked as I got out the fry pan for Eli. His kitchen, which was kind of small, was cramped with all three of us standing around, but no one seemed to mind.

"Five," Karen told me. "Eli didn't tell you?"

"We've been a little busy," Eli said, shrugging a little. When Karen put the brownies in the oven, she mentioned that she had one more cake to make, but had to wait until the other finished baking.

"Cake and brownie don't have different temperature settings?" I asked Eli, frowning at the fact that Karen put them both in the oven. Karen had gone off to the bathroom, leaving us alone.

"Who knows? My mom'll figure it all out," he assured me. "Why? You like brownies? You always struck me as a pie person."

"It makes no real difference to me."

He glanced over from the pancake he was flipping. "Hmmm. Anyways, how many pancakes do you want?"

"Just one."

"Auden," he scolded. "No one can eat just one pancake. That's like eating just one chip! Or eating jelly without peanut butter. It's unheard of."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay." He smiled at me. "That's something they don't teach you there at Defriese."

"Too bad, all that money that goes into it."

"Hmmm." Eli glanced over at me. "You're eating two though, FYI."

"Thanks for the info."

When Karen got back, I was already eating at the table and Eli was starting on his own breakfast.

"Did you want some, Mom?"

"No, I'm fine," she said, getting a cup of coffee before sitting down next to me at the table. "Steven took Thisbe and Vinny to the beach today, Eli."

"I know. Heidi texted me last night."

"He doesn't even realize that there's a party," Karen told me, clearly excited with herself. "I mean, gosh, he doesn't even know that Taylor and Jordan are coming down. He'll be so happy."

"Yeah, until he realizes that Kelly is at the hotel in town."

"Well, Eli, why don't you plan the perfect party, huh?" Karen rolled her eyes heavily. "I swear sometimes you say things just to tick me off."

"It's called having a son, Mom."

"You act like your father."

When Eli sat down, he immediately drowned his five pancakes with twenty times as much syrup as I had used. "You keeping the time on what's in the oven, Mom?"

"Yes," she told him, taking a sip of her coffee. "Mmm, Eli, you make your coffee too strong."

He shrugged a little bit. "I like it."

After breakfast, Karen and Eli finished up cooking things while I went to go shower. When I got out, Karen was gone, but Eli was on the couch, playing video games.

"When'd you get a PS3?"

"PS2, thank you, and it's my old one. I just didn't have it out when you were still here because I didn't have a TV." Eli didn't even look over at me. "So what do you want to do now?"

"Apparently you want to play video games." I made him lift up his feet and let me sit down.

He quickly put his feet back in my lap, sighing a little. "You know, I didn't mean for my mom to get you involved with getting the kids from Kelly."

"It's fine, really." I smiled at him before looking at his feet, which were now in socks. "You cold?"

"My feet were." He wiggled his toes. For a little while, I sat there and watched him play his video game, which really just consisted of shooting other people.

"I think that your mom likes me."

Eli stretched a little. "She always has."

"Oh, whatever."

"The only time she didn't like you was when we were in that break up get back together phase. And even then she still liked you, she just didn't like what we were doing."

"I dunno, Eli. Since I've gotten back, she's been really excited whenever I'm around."

"We all are, Auden." He finally looked at me. "You know that, right? You were a huge part of my family. You still are. I meant what I said back then."

"Back when?"

"Back when you first told me you were pregnant-"

"Eli-"

"You are still the first mother of one of my children. We're always going to be together, whether it is as a couple or as friends. Alright?"

I looked off for a moment. "Okay."

* * *

Eli and I hung around the house for awhile before he left for his mother's, leaving me to await my fate. It was still another hour until Kelly showed up, so I was on my own. At first, I just watched television, but then…I don't know. Maybe it was curiosity, but I just had to go look.

When I got to the door to what was supposed to be Clayton's room, I faltered. Part of me was afraid of what I would see on the other side, but then I decided that that was silly. What could possibly be in there? I had already decided that it was a guest bed for Jake or Thisbe and Vinny so needless to say I was shocked when I opened the door.

It was nothing. Just a room. Nothing more. It didn't even have a bed or dresser. I blinked a little bit and felt a slight chill, so I went back to the living room. I wasn't laying down that long when there was a knock at the door.

"Hi," I said as I answered it. Taylor and Jordan stood there, looking both pretty much the same except for the fact that Taylor now had blonde highlights. Kelly stood behind them, seeming surprised to see me.

"Is Eli here?" She asked, but I shook my head.

"He's already at his parents' house. They wanted me to take the kids over there." I took a step back. "You can come in-"

"I actually need to use the bathroom," she said, coming into the house. Taylor just stared at me for a moment before walking in too.

"Hi, Auden," Jordan greeted, smiling at me. "Is Vinny here?"

"No," I told him, glad that at least someone was happy to see me. "Your dad took him and Thisbe to the beach. You'll see him at the party though."

"And Daddy," he told me as he ran over to the couch. I shut the door before going over there with him. "Hey, Auden?"

"What?" I looked around to find where Taylor went, but I couldn't see her.

"Are you and Eli dating again? Last time we were here and I asked him, he just told me that you had to go away. Then I asked Grandpa and he said I shouldn't bother Uncle Eli so much and should bother Jake instead."

"That's…good advice."

"But are you? Now?"

I hesitated, if only because I wasn't sure. After this morning, I was pretty certain that we were. If he had asked the day before that though, I'd have said no way.

"You'd have to ask Eli," I told him simply as Taylor resurfaced from the kitchen, a coke in her hand.

"How come? You don't know?"

"It's just…things are complex right now."

"Complex," he said slowly. "Complex."

"Yeah."

"He's stupid," Taylor told me. "He doesn't know what that means."

"I do too!"

"No, you don't, idiot."

"Hey." I frowned over at her, but wasn't really sure of how to handle this. The most I've ever dealt with is Thisbe and she's pretty simple, so long as Eli's around. "Don't call him names."

"Don't tell my children what to do."

I looked over as Kelly came back into the room from the bathroom. "She was calling him a name."

"Try actually keeping your own children before commenting on mine."

Oh. My. God. I just sat there for a moment, trying to reason with a different meaning with what she said. During that time, Kelly hugged both of her children before promising that she was just at the hotel and would see them later.

"Can we go already or what?" Taylor asked after about five minutes. Jordan was still sitting next to me, watching the television. "I don't want to stay here."

Bitch. That's what I wanted to call Kelly, but I couldn't form the thought before. Now I could. I took a deep breath before standing.

"Yeah, let's go," I whispered, headed to the door. "Come on, Jordan."

Jordan was old enough that he didn't need a car seat, as he had just turned six about three weeks before Thisbe turned four. That was good news, as I no longer kept one in my car. When we got to their grandparents', Jordan jumped out of the car, headed for the house. Taylor was a lot slower, but eventually she made it in too. Then I just sat in my car out by the curb, waiting. I didn't know for what, but I knew I didn't want to go in there.

After about twenty minutes, someone came out of the house. I was expecting Eli, but was shocked to see that it was Karen.

"Are you not coming inside?" She asked after I rolled down my window when she tapped on it.

"I just…No. I think I should leave." I looked away from her as she stuck her head in the window next to my own. "Something came up and-"

"Jordan told me what Kelly said."

"He did?"

"Well, Taylor mentioned it and then he explained."

"Oh."

"Auden…you can come in. Kelly's not welcome here anyways. I mean, you should have seen Easter." Karen sighed a little bit. "She even ruined Valentine's Day for Joey and I."

I glanced over at her. "How, exactly?"

"That was the same day that she kicked Steven out. Which wouldn't have been a big deal, had she not called me to complain about it for hours." She rolled her eyes, as if their marriage was that of children. "Joey had gone through a lot of work, making me dinner and…Well, he just did a lot and she ruined it."

"Is that…I mean…Is that why Steven and Vinny are here?"

She nodded a little bit. "Taylor and Jordan were in school. He didn't want to uproot them. Plus, Kelly would have put up a huge fight."

"Not for Vinny?"

Karen sighed, leaning her hands against the car. "Do you really want to talk about that right now?"

"It's better than…what Kelly said."

"What Kelly said is stupid." Karen smiled at me and I wondered briefly if this was the type of conversation she had with Heidi that day, when I first met her and Heidi was having a meltdown. Probably not, as Heidi had been in a way worse situation than me. Emotionally, at least.

"I guess."

"No, it is." She reached out and moved to touch my face, but she stopped herself. "Sorry. I always forget that you're not…a touchy-feely person. My family is."

"I've noticed."

"Come inside, Auden."

"I don't want to ruin Steven's party by being upset."

"Steven won't even be here for another hour. I'm sure by then you'll be fine."

"But-"

"Heidi's coming. If you're not here, she'll want to know why. What do you want me to tell her?"

"Besides the fact that apparently I can't keep…Fine…I'll…I really should just go."

"No." She reached inside and unlocked my door before opening. "Come on."

"But-"

"If you're unsure about Eli, the only reason he isn't out here is because he's seething in the house."

"Seething?"

She nodded. "He wanted to call Kelly, but his father wouldn't let him."

"Great, so I already ruined the party."

"No. The party hasn't even started yet. Now come on. It'll ruin it if you're not there." This time she didn't even hesitate as she grabbed my left hand. I had just enough time to unbuckle my seatbelt before she was pulling me away, towards the house.

When we got in there, Joseph was in his chair, Jordan in his lap. He smiled at me.

"Auden. I haven't seen you since I told you about Janice."

"Not today, Joey," Karen told him, still leading me through the house. When we got to the kitchen, she let me go. "It looks like Eli's out back with Jake. They're setting up."

I knew that was my cue to go out there and help or at least talk to Eli. Taking a deep breath, I headed back there to find Jake actually manning the grill all by himself.

"Wow," I said to him as I stepped out onto the porch. "They let you grill without help these days?"

"Yep," Jake said, glancing behind him. "I'm a big boy now."

"Is that what your pull-ups say?"

"Wanna check for me?"

Eli, who was setting up a table, cleared his throat and I made my way over.

"You okay?" He straightened and faced me, his arms crossed over his chest. "If you're not-"

"Just…I wanted to call her a bitch."

Jake glanced over at us, but Eli kept his eyes on me.

"Why didn't you?"

"Her kids were there and…I don't want to fight with your family."

"She's not my family." He took a step closer to me so that his chest was pressing against me. I finally looked away from him, now staring at the ground. "And if she had ever said that in front of me, she wouldn't even be alive to be someone's family."

"Eli…"

"I'm serious." He reached out to grab my chin like he had done the day before. "Look at me."

I did so, not saying anything.

"You do realize, with or without Kelly, you're my parents' favorite."

"Eli, stop."

"You are." He kissed my lips gently, though he quickly pulled back. "So just chill out some, alright? She won't bother you anymore, I promise. Now can you go inside and get me those bags of chips and a few bowls?"

"For the record, Auden, I like you better too," Jake told me as I passed him. "And it's not just because I got a piece of you."

I left him outside with Eli raving, hating the fact that Jake Stock could make me smile.

* * *

"Since when did you start to drink so much?"

Eli frowned at me as he mixed together the tequila and coke. "What?"

"The first day I showed up you were drunk too."

"Aud, I'm at my parents' house and they offered me a drink."

"I don't think your dad meant that we could come raid his liquor cabinet."

Eli shrugged. "He should have been more specific."

We were standing in the living room, Eli going through all of the liquor, trying to decide what else he wanted in his drink. I had never really drunk anything this hard and was just watching him.

"What will you have here? Half a bottle of Northern Light." Eli took that with him before turning and walking away. "Come on, Aud, let's go back out there."

"And I thought Jake was the drunk," I mumbled, but Eli didn't hear me. When we got back outside, the party was still going on, but Heidi had yet to show up. Some of Steven's friends from around town were there, along with a few guys from the shop. Wallace, who had shown up while we were inside, made his way over.

"Hey, Auden. I heard that you were back."

I nodded a little bit as Eli sat his bottle of Northern Light on one of the tables. "Yeah. Just until July."

At the mention of that month, Eli downed half of the red cup in his hand. He made a face. "God, that's some real tequila right there."

I sighed loudly as Wallace asked why he had a bottle of whiskey then.

"Because I can't drink straight tequila. You'd kill yourself that way," Eli explained as he opened the bottle of Northern Light and poured some of it into his red cup.

"Oh, because this is so much better?"

"Jealous, Auden?" He asked, waving the cup under my nose. I frowned at him.

"Stop, Eli. God, the smell makes me nauseous."

"Light weight," he taunted as Wallace walked off.

"And?" I crossed my arms a little. "Besides, this is your brother's birthday. Don't turn into Jake and get wasted."

"I'm not. I can hold my liquor." He walked off, leaving me behind. I looked around, trying to find someone that I knew, but the only person I saw was Karen and that wasn't happening. So instead, I went to go check on my sister.

"Hi, Thisbe."

"Hi, Auden," she greeted, holding out the last letter of my name before giggling. "Me and Vinny are feeding the ants."

This was true. Her and Eli's youngest nephew were taking pieces of cookies and brownies and tossing them on top of an ant pile.

"Well, I don't think they're hungry anymore," I told her, watching as Vinny carefully sat the rest of the cookie down.

"Now what do we do?" He asked her as she followed behind me. "Auden?"

"Well, do you want more food?"

"No," Thisbe said for the both of them, patting her stomach. "We're full. Jake gave us a bunch of hotdogs."

"Yeah," Vinny agreed. "We eated a lot. You eated a lot, Auden?"

"Ate," I told him, smiling a little bit. "I'm not very hungry."

"Auden doesn't eat because Auden's a girl," Thisbe told Vinny. "Girls don't eat."

"You're a girl," Vinny told her. Then he poked her in the stomach. "You eat."

"No!" She pushed him away. "I'm not a girl!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No!"

"Y-"

"Ralph!" She turned towards the gate, where Heidi and some man were walking in, who I recognized from the pictures last night as her boyfriend. Karen went over from where she was sitting to greet my ex-stepmother as Joseph took Ralph from her.

"Look, Daddy, a dog," Jordan called from over by the lawn chairs. Steven was sitting in one, his son in his lap. Apparently no longer caring for his father when a canine was present, Jordan jumped out of his lap, leaving Steven with his friends.

"Here you go, kids," Joseph said as he came over to Thisbe and Vinny. He unleashed Ralph, who immediately took off running. Giggling, Thisbe and Vinny ran after him. Smiling at this, Joseph looked at me. "You've been one upped by a dog, Auden."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

He just clapped me on the shoulder before going over to the table that Eli sat the Northern Light on. Frowning, Joseph picked it up and took it back into the house.

"Auden," Heidi called me over. Reluctant to meet her new beau, I slowly made my way towards her. "Auden, I want you to meet Jack. Jack, this is Auden."

The guy, who looked a little bit too old for Heidi in person, drug his sunglasses to the top of his head before shaking my hand. He had shaggy brown hair and a goatee, making him look as if he were attempting to hide his age.

"Hello, Auden," he said, speaking with a slight west coast accent. Oh boy. "It's very good to finally meet you."

"You too," I said, shaking his hand when he offered it to me. Heidi was smiling brightly, as if my approval had something to do with anything. Honestly, we're not even technically related any more. "I see you brought Ralph."

Heidi nodded. "Karen thought we should. Jordan really likes dogs, but Kelly won't let him get one."

I turned my head a little to watch my younger half-sister and her friend chase Ralph around the yard. I was shocked to find that the dog had already tired out and was now laying on his side, resting.

"Eli," Thisbe called as she ran passed us. "Ralph wants water."

Eli, who at the moment was trying to locate that Northern Light that his father put away, looked down at her. "Sure. Let me go get him a bowl, okay?"

After excusing myself, I followed him into the house.

"Your father took the Northern Light," I told him as he went to the cupboard to get a bowl.

"Why Auden, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think that you do."

He filled up the bowl in the sink before leading me back outside, headed towards Ralph.

"Here you go," he said, setting the bowl in front of the dog.

"Stop, Jordan!" Vinny pushed his older brother away when he tried to pet Ralph. "This is Thisbe's dog!"

Eli frowned at his nephews. "Stop it guys."

"No." Vinny crossed his arms while Thisbe just rolled her eyes. "Jordan can't play."

"Yes, I can!"

"No." Vinny spit at his brother, which about got him shoved, but I grabbed Jordan's arm.

"You stop it, Vinny, before I make you go sit in time out," Eli said. "Or better yet, Grandpa'll spank you."

He stomped his feet. "It's not fair! Ralph is Thisbe and my dog, not his."

"He can play too," Isby said, but Vinny just stomped his feet again, ready to go into a tantrum.

"I'm gonna need more drinks," Eli mumbled to me as he picked up Vinny, who was now throwing a fit. "Stop it, Vinny."

"No! Jordan doesn't live here. He's not Thisbe and Ralph's friend. I am!"

Karen came out of nowhere from somewhere else in the party and took her youngest grandchild.

"What's wrong?" She asked him as he began to cry softly against her neck. "Are they being mean to you?"

"No," Jordan defended, frowning. "He won't let me play with Ralph."

"I think Vinny missed his naptime," Karen said before turning towards the house, disappearing into the crowd of the party. Thisbe took off after her, calling out for Ralph to follow. The dog glanced after his little master before closing his eyes to go to sleep.

"There. Now you can play with the dog," Eli told his nephew. "Okay?"

Jordan nodded a little bit, getting on his knees to do so. Then I followed behind Eli, deciding that I didn't want to be ditched again.

"So are you drunk?"

"Maybe," he told me, taking my hand as we went through the people. When he finally found his oldest brother, he told him, "Your son threw a fit."

Steven, who was currently talking to one of his buddies, frowned. "Who?"

"Vinny. Mom took him to go take a nap."

Steven nodded a little as Eli sat down in one of the lawn chairs. He tried to make me sit in his lap, but I declined, instead sitting in a chair next to him. After saying a few more things to his friends, they left to go get beer, leaving the three of us.

"I, uh, think I should apologize, Auden," Steven said, turning to face us. "About Kelly."

"That's not your problem," I told him, but Eli snorted. I remembered Vinny telling me before that they were fighting, so clearly this didn't help anything.

"You need to get your girl in check," Eli told him. I rolled my eyes.

"God, Eli, shut up." I frowned at him. "I told you that you'd get drunk."

"I'm not drunk!"

"Then be quieter."

Now angry with me, Eli got up and stormed off, leaving me with his older brother.

"He does that a lot now."

"What? Make an ass of himself?"

"No," Steven said slowly. "Drink. That's why he and I have been arguing recently."

I shrugged a little, watching as my drunk boyfriend stumbled off into the house, no doubt in search of more liquor.

"Jake drinks."

"Jake drinks beer. Jake also lives with his parents and is hardly an adult. Eli was going good, even after everything with Abe."

I blinked a little bit. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Just that you devastated him. After everything that happened, Eli just kind of-"

"And what about you?"

"What about me?"

I snorted a little bit. "You have problems with your wife so you just leave two of your kids and move down to Colby? You're not a saint, Steven, so don't pretend to be."

"You don't know anything."

"Save it," I told him, standing.

I didn't know where I was going until I was in the front yard, where I ran into Joseph.

"Ah, Auden. Did Karen send you out to get sodas too?"

I blinked, watching as he walked over to his car. "No," I said slowly. "But…you'll need help carrying them back, huh?"

"Sure. I'd love to have you come along."

Hanging out with my possible boyfriend's father was not my idea of fun, but it beat hanging around that party.

* * *

"Is the party over?"

Vinny yawned a little bit, Thisbe's voice waking him. "Already?"

I smiled a little bit, running a hand down Thisbe's head. I had gone into the room Vinny was using at his grandparents, finding the two of them curled together for their nap on his bed.

"Yep," I told them. "I saved you cake and ice cream though."

Thisbe pushed Vinny a little bit when he stretched, his arms getting in his face. "Stop."

"No. It's my bed."

"You have to share."

"No. You share."

"No, you."

"N-"

"What if you both get up, huh? All of your dad's friends are gone," I told Vinny, turning to walk to the door. When we got to the living room, Vinny immediately climbed into his grandmother's lap. Karen, who was sitting on the couch watching TV, smiled a little bit.

"Do you feel better now?"

Vinny nodded, leaning against her. "Auden said we got cake?"

"Go in the kitchen and have grandpa give it to you."

I could see Joseph, Jordan, and Steven in there. "Where's Eli?"

"Oh, Auden, he passed out in Jake's room," Karen told me as Vinny and my sister went to get their dessert. "I think he's just going to stay here for the night."

"I thought he left, I didn't know that he was still here."

"About an hour ago, he didn't feel well anymore and went to lie down."

"Then I guess I'll take Thisbe home after she finishes her-"

"No!" Vinny frowned at me as he and Thisbe came back into the room with their cake and ice cream. "Thisbe gonna sleep here, in my room."

"Yeah," Thisbe said. "With Ralph!"

"Yeah!"

I was slowly learning that Vinny was a yeller. A very loud one at that. Karen sighed as they both climbed onto the couch next to her.

"Vinny, your mother's in town. Your brother and sister are going back to the hotel. You don't wanna go?"

As Thisbe had gotten vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake while Vinny had gotten that pineapple one Eli bragged about with cookie dough ice cream, the two of them were sharing each other's plates. It was cute.

"No," Vinny said, giving Thisbe one of his pineapples. That reminded me of Christmas, when Eli was feeding me that pineapple pizza in Hollis' bedroom. Sighing a little bit, I sat down in Joseph's chair. "I gotta stay with Thisbe."

"Yes," she agreed, but suddenly pushed his arm away. "Stop! You're eating all my ice cream."

"I am not!" He frowned at her. "We're sharing. You gotta share, Thisbe. You don't share."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"I'm telling Eli."

"No." Vinny put his plate in his lap before crossing his arms. "No, Thisbe. No."

"Then be nice."

"Okay." He reached over and, without a fork, pulled off some of her cake. Then he held it up to her mouth. "Here. That's nice."

She frowned, not eating it. "Your hands dirty."

"No, you're dirty!"

"No!"

"Be quiet," Karen told them both. "You can spend the night, Thisbe, if you want, but Vinny, tomorrow you have to go see your mother, okay?"

"Can Thisbe go?" This time, he pulled a piece of cookie dough from his ice cream and held it up to her. Who could turn down cookie dough? Not my sister, apparently, as she ate it with a giggle. "Feed me!"

Thisbe was doing so as Karen said, "No, Vinny, I don't think that would be a good idea. You haven't spend any alone time with your mother in awhile-"

"I see Mr. Robbie with Thisbe."

"That's different."

"No." He opened his mouth wide. At first I thought he was showing of his teeth until my giggling sister put some of his cake in his mouth. That made them both snicker. "Thisbe likes my mommy."

"Mmmhmm," Thisbe said before opening her mouth, waiting to be fed. After she was, she said, "Eli can come too."

"Yeah. And Ralph." Vinny looked up at his grandmother. "Where's Ralph?"

"Jake and Heidi took him home. You two went to sleep."

"We was nappin'," said Vinny, which made Thisbe giggle even more. When they finished their cake and ice cream, Karen made them go throw their trash away. While they were in the kitchen, I spoke to her.

"I should probably take off now."

"Hmmm? Why?"

"Well, Eli's passed out and Thisbe's going to spend the night."

"You can stay for a little longer too, Auden," Karen told me. "At the very least, could you go check on Eli?"

When I located him a minute later, he was in one of the bedrooms, sleeping. Going over to him, I ran a hand down his head while looking around. There were clothes all over the floor and posters of bands, women, and motorbikes everywhere.

"So this is the room of the great Jake Stock?" I mumbled to Eli as I sat on the edge of the bed, stroking his head. Groaning a little, he opened his eyes.

"Vinny's staying in my old room."

"Oh."

Eli smiled sleepily up at me. "Sorry. I'm drunk."

"I know."

He turned his head and kissed my thigh. "Mmm…wanna take me home and take advantage of me?"

"Eli."

"I'm kidding." He closed his eyes again. "Lay down with me."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I'm leaving."

"Mmm…I wanna go."

"I don't think you should."

"Why?"

"You're fine right there."

"Mmm…Thisbe?"

"She's spending the night here too, with Vinny." I smiled as I leaned down closer to his ear. "I think you've been replaced by a younger, newer model."

"Nah. It's a power strug…that word. But she'll always come back to me."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

I sat there with Eli for a few more minutes before leaving the room. When I got back to the living room, it was clear that Steven had other plans than the ones that Karen did for the evening.

"Mom, he can't just stay here. Kelly wants all the kids with her tonight."

"Steven, he'll see her tomorrow. I can't help it if he wants to be with Thisbe instead."

My sister, at the moment, was missing along with Vinny. Then I realized they weren't missing, they were hiding. I could see them hiding behind the legs of Joseph, who was listening to his wife and oldest fight, but not stepping into the battle.

"Then fine, Mom, let me just have Kelly flipping out-"

"Its fine," I interrupted, shocking myself and nearly everyone else. Jake, who had been hanging upside down from the couch listening, frown at me. Or maybe it was meant to be a smile. I couldn't tell. "Thisbe, Eli's staying here. Me and you will go home, back to his place, alone, okay? That'll be fun, right?"

"No!" Vinny yelled at me, coming out from behind Joseph. "No, no-"

"And then tomorrow, if your dad lets you, you can spend the night too," I told him. "Okay?"

Thisbe nodded, still holding onto Joseph's leg. Then she ran took off running, probably to go tell Eli goodbye. Vinny was still whining, but his sister Taylor came out of the kitchen then and saw it.

"God, just shut up, okay? Do you have to freaking cry about everything?" She made a face at him before looking at Steven. "Can we go now?"

"Vinny needs to get his pajamas and clothes for the morning," Steven said. Then he looked at his son. "On second though, I'll do it."

"Grandpa, no!" Vinny was stomping his feet, like a toddler. "I don't wanna go! Don't make me go! Grandma!"

I felt bad for him for some reason, even though I knew he was overreacting and acting spoiled. Still, he was so cute that I felt bad anyways.

"Granny!" He was holding his hands out to be picked up, but Karen, mad she had lost an argument, ignored him and went to sit down on the couch. "Sissy?"

Did he honestly think Taylor would care? She glanced up from her phone before rolling her eyes. When he came to me, I picked him up, if only because I knew it would stop him a little bit.

Hiccupping a little bit, Vinny wrapped his arms around my neck, closing his eyes. "I don't wanna go."

I bounced him a little, looking around for someone else to take him, but no one was offering. "It's okay, Vinny. It's not even that big of a deal."

"Eli told me he'll see me later. Then he called me an alligator!" Thisbe came up behind me, but frowned when she saw Vinny in my arms. "What's wrong?"

"I don't wanna go."

"Oh." Thisbe held up her arms to be picked up too, but there was no way I was carrying them both. Instead, I sat Vinny down in front of her. Quickly, Thisbe moved her arms so that they were around him, holding him tightly.

"I wanna stay with Grandma and Daddy."

Thisbe still just hugged him, clearly not nearly as upset. When she let go, she grabbed Eli's hat, which sat upon her head like always. "When I go bye-bye, Eli gives me this. Here."

Thisbe put it on his head, giggling a little. Vinny sniffled, still crying, but now feeling a little bit better. He hugged Thisbe this time before letting her go, his tears starting to cease.

"Bye-bye."

"Bye-bye."

Thisbe waved to everyone else before looking up at me. "Can we go?"

"Yeah," I said before looking at Karen. "Tell Eli I had to take his truck. He has Thisbe's car seat."

I left my car key with her before getting Eli's truck keys from Joseph, who apparently had taken them when Eli tried to leave earlier. Then it was just me and Thisbe.

"Vinny cries a lot," Thisbe told me as I buckled her into he car seat. "Eli told me it's because he's sad about his mommy and daddy."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Thisbe giggle when I kissed her. "I don't cry like him. Not as much."

"No, you don't." After getting into the driver's side, I reached up and unpinned Clayton's picture before setting it in the passenger's seat, not wanting to know it was above me as I drove. "That's okay though. Some people are just more…emotional."

She giggled. "I like Vinny."

"I know. He's your friend."

"My best friend." She laughed again. "Who's your best friend?"

"I don't really have one. I like all my friends about the same."

"Auden."

I rolled my eyes. "I guess Maggie, but just because we live together. And I have a lot of friends you don't know that go to college with me."

"Wha' about Eli?"

"What about him?"

"Isn't he your friend?"

"Thisbe…yes, he's one of my friends."

"You love him," she told me as oppose to asking. "And he loves you. Like Mulan."

I turned up the radio a little bit. "You know, Thisbe, I'm not staying very long."

"What do you mean?"

"I have to go back home."

"No school. It's summer."

"I know."

"Where you gonna go?"

"I have an internship in July that-"

"What's that?"

"It's like…I go there to get…experience in a certain field."

"You gonna grow corn?"

"No, silly." I sighed a little bit. "It's not important. What is important though, is that you know I'll come back."

She whined a little bit. "Take a long time?"

"No. Even if I did though, Thisbe, I just want you to know that I'll always come back. Okay?"

"Okay."

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

I was still asleep when I felt someone curled against my back. I won't have thought it was weird, had I not felt Thisbe cuddled against my stomach.

"Wha-"

"Just me, Eli," he mumbled in my ear as he wrapped an arm around me. "I thought you said Thisbe was staying with my parents?"

"She was, but then Steven made Vinny go stay with his mother."

"I heard he threw a fit."

"Oh, he did."

"He does that a lot."

"Thisbe mentioned that." I turned my head slightly so that I could see him. "You're on the edge, Eli. Why didn't you get on the other side of the bed?"

"I wanted to be near you, not Thisbe."

"She'll be dismayed to hear this."

"She's the one that traded up, remember? Not my fault her new model has to stay with his mommy sometimes." Eli ran a hand down my stomach and I flashed back to all those nights he did the same thing, trying to be as comforting to our baby as possible. I closed my eyes, letting out a slow breath, but didn't say anything.

"Mmm, I've missed this."

I cuddled back into him. "Eli…"

"Shhh. I've got you." He kissed my neck. This was almost too much. I wanted to get up and leave, but I forced myself to stay. Eli chilled out a little bit after that, content with just stroking my stomach. After about twenty minutes, Thisbe woke up.

Yawning, she rolled over to face me, but was shocked to see I wasn't alone. "Eli!"

"Shhh. It's quiet time."

"Is Vinny here?"

I stifled a giggle as Eli frowned.

"No," he said darkly, sitting up. I was slightly relieved that I didn't have to feel awkward anymore, but some what disappointed that he was letting Thisbe ruin our moment. "Why do you want Vinny here?"

"He's my friend."

"I'm your friend."

She giggled. "Vinny's my best friend."

" _I'm_  your best friend."

Still, she just laughed, moving closer to us. "You're Auden's boyfriend."

"And?" He reached over me, pulling her to sit in his lap. I shifted into the spot she previously occupied, frowning a little bit. "Without me, you wouldn't even know Vinny!"

"Eli-"

"Thisbe, this hurts." He made a sad face or her. "It hurts a lot."

She leaned against him. "You need more friends."

I glanced at Eli and could see the smile in his eye. "Yeah, Eli, you need more friends."

"No," he told her, putting on to keep the game going. "Thisbe, you said that we were best friends forever."

"Forever," she repeated, liking to say that word for some reason. "Forever."

"Yeah."

She shifted in his lap, laying her head against him now. "I could be both your best friends."

"You'd do that? Share best friend status?"

She nodded. "I love you."

"Really? More than…Auden?"

She glanced at me, but just giggled. "More than Tigger."

"Oh, well, that's a prestigious honor, right there." Eli leaned down, hugging her to him. "Just don't tell Vinny about this, alright?"

"How come?"

"I want him to know that I was here first and that I always win."

"I like equ…at…ical…lic…ly."

"Equally," I told her.

"Yeah." She grabbed one of Eli's hands. "I wanna eat."

"What do you want?" He asked.

"A cow." Then she started giggling for some reason. Eli just smiled.

"You're so funny," he told her, standing. "Come on, let's go make breakfast, okay?"

I watched as he carried her away, not letting it be lost on me that she had been upset when I tried to carry her my first day back. After laying around in bed for awhile, I got up to go check on them.

"Omelet, Auden?" Eli asked as I came into the kitchen. He took a moment to look over my booty shorts, making me blush. "New addition to your closet?"

"It gets hot at the apartment."

"I'm sure." He went back to the bacon that he was frying. "Just don't tell Dr. Victoria West. She'll think that you're degrading yourself for me."

"Hardly." I went over to the coffee maker, which Eli had turned on. "What are you doing, Thisbe?"

She looked over from the table, where she was mixing something in a bowl. "I gotta mix the eggs."

"Oh. That's a very important job."

"Can you put toast in, Aud?" Eli asked me.

"Mmmhmm," I said, going to do so. "Do you work today?"

"Yep. I go in at noon, so we only have a few more hours. Thisbe's gonna probably want to see Vinny today, so can you take her wherever she needs to go?"

"Yeah," I told him. "We don't have anything to do with your parents today, do we?"

"Why? Miss my dad already?"

"Just the Janice stories."

Eli reached out for me and, as I was so close, easily pulled me to his body. I molded into him, but refused to look his way.

"You sure are touchy."

"I only have till July, right?" He turned his head to kiss me before letting me go. "Get the bowl from Thisbe, please."

"I'm helping," she told me as I went to do so.

"I know. Thank you."

Eli sat all of the bacon on one plate before getting to work on omelets. I was sitting at the table with Thisbe, watching, when I heard my cell ring. Sighing, I got up and got it from the living room.

"Hello?"

"Have you yet?"

I rolled my eyes, going to sit down on the couch. "No, Maggie. Thisbe came home with me last night. Eli stayed at his parents."

"Why?"

"He was drunk."

She huffed. "Well, if you don't sleep with him soon-"

"Maggie, don't you think that it's a little weird that you're more worried about my sex life than I am?"

"No. Someone has to be concerned with it."

"I am concerned with it."

"Then why is it so nonexistent?"

Letting out a slow breath, I said, "It probably won't be, before I leave. So just chill, okay."

"Fine…So have you met Jack?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. "You know, you could have told me that she was seeing him. Or maybe that Steven was living here. Or about Ralph-"

"Well, I don't know who Ralph is, but all the other stuff was because you told me that you didn't want to know anything. Every single time I  _tried_  to tell you anything, you wouldn't let me. So that's your fault."

I sighed a little bit. "Well, a lot has been going on since I left."

"No kidding."

"Eli has a beard."

"What?"

"Well, he's working on it. He's all stubbly. I don't like it."

"Tell him."

"I probably will ton-"

"Auden, food's ready," Eli called out to me. "Come eat."

"I've got to go, Mag," I said, standing up. "I'll call you back later, alright?"

"Not tonight though. Tonight you're getting laid."

"Maggie."

She giggled. "Besides, I have a date tonight."

"Really?"

"You have to go, remember?"

When I got back into the kitchen, Thisbe was covering her whole breakfast in ketchup.

"What's she-"

"It's something her and Vinny do with breakfast," Eli said with a shake of his head. Then he brightened.

"Come sit next to me," he said, pulled out chair next to him. I refilled my coffee before doing so.

"Eli, I wanna go home 'n' see Ralph."

"Auden'll take you after she showers," he told her. "Okay? Then maybe for dinner you and Vinny can eat with me."

"Yay!"

"Only as long as his mother doesn't want him. Okay?"

"Okay," Thisbe agreed, giggling. "Eli, how come you got sick at the party? Did you eat something bad?"

I glanced at him. "Yeah, Eli, why?"

I got a look for that one before he turned back to Thisbe. "Yeah, that's what happened. And hey, little girl, where is my hat?"

She patted the top of her head, giggling when she felt no hat present. "Vinny was crying so I gave it to him. I don't want him to cry."

"Well, that's nice and everything, but when someone gives you something, you can't just give it to someone else."

"It's okay," she told him. "Vinny is my best friend."

Eli cleared his throat.

"You too."

After breakfast, Eli let me shower first before taking Thisbe home. Heidi was there, getting ready for work.

"Oh, Auden, has she had a bath yet?" Heidi asked after letting me in.

"No," I said as Thisbe ran into the house in search of her pooch. "If you have to go though-"

"She can go one day without a bath."

I looked around as I closed the door behind me. "Is Jack here?"

"Why, Auden, I do not know what you are implying."

I rolled my eyes. "So anyways, Eli wanted me to take her to see Vinny whenever he's done with his mom. Can I call you when she needs to be picked up and then come get her?"

"Sure."

"Alright."

"Actually, Auden, you could come down to the shop with me-"

"Heidi, I really want to spend sometime with Eli before he goes into work," I lied. Really, I just didn't want to spend time with Heidi. She had been creeping me out since I got back.

"Oh," she said all slow, as if she understood what I meant when really, even I didn't understand what I meant. I'm sure she had the same idea as Maggie though, which kind of made me sick. "Well, call me if you need me."

"Alright." I called out a goodbye to Isby before heading back to Eli's. When I got there, he was in the shower. Before, I'd have had no problem with jumping in there with him, but now, after losing Clayton, I…I wasn't sure…on anything.

"Hey, Aud," Eli said as he came into the bedroom a few minutes later. I was laying around in there, not sure what I wanted to do with the day. "I texted Mom to call you when Vinny wanted to come over here. Okay? Or you might have to meet somewhere for lunch with him and his dad or something. Just, whatever you do, don't forget Thisbe."

I frowned. "This has happened before?"

"Well, once, I went to go meet him and my dad for dinner and forgot to pick her up from Jack's place."

"What was she doing at Jack's?"

"Heidi had been staying the weekend there or something, so I had dropped her off there before going to a competition-"

"You're back in competitions?"

Eli smiled at me. "Yeah. You should, you know, come to one."

I had never been to one of his competitions, mainly because Eli never invited me. He never invited anyone. When we first got together, he was still retired, but, my freshmen year at Defriese, he got back into competing a little, before dropping back off the map. Apparently, now, he had picked back up.

I rolled onto my stomach. "I just don't understand."

"Understand what?"

"How you can be drunk and still perform."

For a moment it was silent and I feared that I crossed the line. Then, suddenly, the bed dipped and Eli was next to me.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Hate to break it to you, Auden, but I can count at least ten times I was drunk and you got the benefit of my…performance."

Just like that, his hands were on my back, trying to give me a message. I closed my eyes tightly.

"Eli, stop."

He did so immediately. "What's wrong?"

"I haven't…since…you…so…"

"Oh." He shifted on the bed. "Well, that's good, because I know everything about you. I won't hurt you."

"I know, but I don't want…I mean…"

"Auden, I haven't either."

"Yeah, because you've been too drunk."

"Low blow, but fine. So I drink a little now. It's still me."

"You've shaved your head and got that nasty hair on your face."

This time, he laid down next to me, his chest pressed against my side. "You don't like my beard?"

"No."

"Oh. I can shave, I guess…"

I turned my head to the side to stare at him. "What about your hair?"

"What? You want me to wear a wig?"

"Eli."

"Auden, I just needed a change, you know? Everything was going so…bad." He looked off. "You changed your hair too."

"I'm a girl though. And I didn't shave it all off."

"Auden," he scolded as my eyes slipped shut again. "That's sexism, saying only girls can change their hair. Don't make me tell Dr. Victoria West on you."

"I think she goes by Ms. Vicky now, or at least that's what I've heard."

"Man, it'll get under her skin if you call her that." Eli laughed a little. "I want to see it."

I could feel his chest rise and fall with each breath, but I didn't move because I kind of liked it. "Eli?"

"What?"

"I just…you're about to go to work. And if…"

"Baby, if you want, I'll call in. We don't even have to, you know, have sex. If you need me, I'm here. I'm always here."

When I opened my eyes again, staring at him. "It's not that I don't want to have sex, Eli, I just…it'll be all awkward."

"It doesn't have to be."

"The last time we did, we still thought that we were going to have a baby."

Just staring for a moment, Eli was silent. When he spoke, he said, "You know, Auden, I want to be with you. Not just today or tonight or even just this month. Even when you leave for that internship, I want you to leave knowing that you're still going to be with me. I need you to realize that you're mine."

"I am yours."

"Good." Leaning closer, he whispered against my ear, "'cause I'm yours too."

* * *

I slipped my sunglasses off as I walked into Last Chance. It was a little passed noon and packed, which I really didn't like, but this was when I had been texted take Thisbe.

"Hi, Vinny," she called, immediately running to him the second she spotted him. I frowned, walking over there.

"Hi," I greeted Kelly, sitting down at the table with her and her other kids. Vinny sat on the same side of the table as Thisbe and I. "I thought that Karen was going to be here."

"Something came up and I had to get the other kids food anyways."

"Hi," Thisbe greeted everyone after hugging Vinny. Then she reached up and took Eli's cap off his head, putting it back on her own. "I went to work with Mommy."

"I got to swim in a pool," Vinny told her. "At the hotel. I'mma good swimmer."

"I know," she said, though she seemed unconvinced. Vinny didn't notice and just looked across the table at his family. "Mommy, you didn't tell Thisbe hi."

"Vinny, be serious," she told him, making me frown. Jordan smiled at me.

"Auden, can we go see Ralph?"

"Uh, sure, if you want to come with Thisbe, Vinny, and I. You can come too, Taylor, if you-"

"No," she told me. I shrugged a little bit, not really wanting to speak to any of the kids in front of Kelly, for the fear she would insult me again. It wasn't so much that I feared her, as much as I didn't like fighting in front of someone's kids.

Thisbe, who was seated between Vinny and I in the booth, leaned against me. "Vinny, Auden's gonna go plant corn in a field."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. In July," she told him.

"Can we go?" Vinny asked.

"That's not what I'm doing," I said, smiling at them a little bit. "I'm doing an internship. It's-"

"I know," Vinny said.

"No, you don't," Thisbe countered. Still, he wanted to seem smart in front of everyone, so he just told her to be quiet.

After we ordered, Vinny went into some sort of long story that only Thisbe was listening to, and even that was just halfheartedly. Jordan was playing some sort of handheld game and Taylor was texting. That left Kelly and I.

"So how long are you staying in Colby?" I asked her.

"I don't really see how that's any of your business."

Jordan frowned. "She just wanted to know how long your staying, Mom. You don't have to be so mean all the time."

Vinny glanced up, shocked to find that no one was interested in his story. It was a long winded tale; something about how Ralph is secretly a superhero or something equally as childish.

"Don't talk back, Jordan," his mother scolded before staring at me.

She was way prettier than me, which I'd always known. She was always changing her hair color though, from blonde to brown, which is her usual shade. Every time I saw her it was something different, but now, currently, it was blonde. Though I knew as a fact that she was five years older than me, she always seemed to be able to one up me, without or without her makeup.

"Sorry, I just figured…that it wasn't that big of deal to know how long you would be here," I told her, trying to keep any malice out of my tone.

"If you must know, I'm leaving tomorrow night." Kelly sat up a little straighter. "The kids are staying though."

"Oh."

Sometimes I wondered what it was about her that made her so defensive around me, but then I figured it had to be rooted in Eli's family. From what he had told me, she had been rude to Karen from the beginning, though I had to wonder if it was just nerves. Then, after Karen passed her judgment of distaste for her, Kelly had basically called all out war on all of Steven's side of the family. I guess I'm included in that.

"One time I fell off my bike," Vinny interrupted, clearly just wanting attention. I don't think anyone had informed Jordan or Vinny that they were supposed to hate me, but Taylor clearly knew.

"I bet that hurt," I said, trying to change the subject. Vinny shook his head.

"I don't get hurt, Auden," he told me in full seriousness. Then Thisbe pinched him. "Ow!"

"Thought you didn't get hurt?"

"Stop it, Thisbe," I said, frowning. About a minute later, when our food arrive, I was finally able to checkout of the conversation at the table and think about what I really wanted to.

Eli and I didn't have sex. We did, however, talk for a long time. Not about anything important, like Clayton, but rather just filling each other in on what had gone on since we'd been separated. He asked me all these leading questions about school, which I knew was really a ploy to see if I had at least dated, which I hadn't. We talked about what he had been doing too, which really was nothing but drinking, working, and competitions.

"What about Vinny and Thisbe? You take care of them too," I had told him when he claimed to be doing nothing serious. I hated when he talked like that, if only because it scared me. He always felt like he should have died instead of Abe. No matter how hard I try, he always feels that way.

"I do," he agreed. "Thisbe's not as interested in me these days. I mean, yeah, I figured this would happen when she started school, but now Vinny's jumpstarted it.

"She still loves you. I mean, God, yesterday when Ralph needed water and there were tons of adults around to get him some, she ran passed all of them to you."

"I know."

"Vinny's just…not so old."

He sighed a little. "I'm happy that she plays with him. Really. I just…I mean, God, I used to spend every day with her."

I smiled a little, reaching out to rub his chin. "It's just something else that changed."

Eli grabbed my arm and kissed my hand. "Guess it is."

Now, back in the restaurant, I was some how duped into paying for the whole meal. After though, Kelly and Taylor went back to their car and I walked the other kids down to the bike shop to bring Eli his lunch, which I had bought at Last Chance also.

"Hi, how can I help you?"

I frowned as I walked into Abe's Bikes and saw a woman I didn't know. "Oh, no, I'm here for-"

"Hi, Brooke" Thisbe greeted her before running off to the back. "Eli! Auden bringed you lunch."

"Brought," Jordan corrected. Eli was back out there in minutes, Thisbe on his shoulders.

"Thanks, Aud," he said as I came closer. I handed over the bag and got a kiss on the cheek from him. "Hey, Vinny. Hi, Jordan. Where's your sister?"

"With Mommy," Vinny told him. "Is Wallace here?"

"No," Eli said before glancing over at the counter. "Oh, Aud, this is Brooke. Brooke, this is Auden. She's staying with me until-"

"-her internship starts." She smiled, her blond hair falling in her face, though she quickly moved it back. "Jake's mentioned it. Multiple times. And other things."

"Yeah, well, Jake's an idiot," Eli said before putting Thisbe on the ground. "Thank you guys for bringing me lunch."

"Your welcome, Eli." Thisbe hugged his leg, which prompted Vinny to do the same. He gave them both a pat on the head before nodding at Jordan. Then I got a kiss.

"I'll see you tonight, okay? I'll make dinner. Or, well, I'll stop by my mom's, take some of whatever they're eating, and bring it home."

I kissed him this time, on the lips. "You're an idiot."

"I try."

After leaving Eli behind, I walked the kids back home with me, as I hadn't driven my car down.

"What are we gonna do at Eli's?" Vinny asked. He kept running ahead of me and getting scolded when he went too far, so now he was walking next to me, holding my hand. Thisbe had taunted him about being a baby, so she was holding onto my right hand. Yeah. And Kelly says I don't know how to parent.

"I dunno. You can play with toys or watch a movie or something. Whatever you want." I looked down at him. "Why? Where did you want to go? To your grand-"

"No!" He swung his hand that was holding mine. "I wanna stay with you."

"Oh." I looked over at Jordan, who was walking slightly in front of us, making sure that he was still okay.

When we got to Eli's, Jordan wanted to play videogames, so I left him in the living room before taking the other two to Eli's room to play with their stuffed animals.

"Is Ralph allowed in the apartment, Thisbe?"

"Yep. Eli had to ask his landgord."

"You mean landlord?"

She shrugged, jumping onto Eli's bed. "Get Tigger, Vinny."

He did so, taking the stuffed animal from the corner of the room and brought him up onto the bed, along with a few others. I sat down on the edge of the bed, my back to them as I texted Heidi and asked her if I could go over to her house to get Ralph, that the kids wanted him. She texted back wanting to know where I was at, so I told her. Then she told me that Jack would bring him over.

"We like Jack," Thisbe told me when I relayed this message. "He's really nice."

"That's good," I said, moving to sit closer to them, now facing the duo. "What are you guys playing?"

"Superhero," Vinny told me, making the Scooby I sent Thisbe for her birthday fly around. "I'm good at being a superhero."

"I'm sure."

Thisbe shook her head. I think that Eli will always come out on top for her, if only because the huge personality divide between Eli and Vinny. Clearly, she enjoys the fact that Eli is more concerned with her, while Vinny is concerned with her worshipping him.

About twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door and both kids took off, sure that it was Jack and Ralph, which it turned out to be.

"Hi, Ralph!" Vinny yelled as Jack came into the apartment. He unleashed the dog, who ran passed all of the kids and jumped onto the couch. "Ralph!"

"Hello, Auden." Jack greeted, smiling as he watched Thisbe and Eli's nephew try to entertain the dog. "Eli around?"

"He's working today."

"Ah, work." Jack looked over at the kids. "I'll see you guys later, alright?"

"Goodbye, Jack," Vinny yelled, though he didn't turn around. Thisbe waved at him. Then he left, leaving the four of us. Well, five including Ralph.

"So what do you guys want to do?" I asked them. "Huh?"

"Play with Ralph," Vinny said.

"Is that what you want to do too, Isby? Jordan?"

The other two children nodded and I left them alone, going into the kitchen to do the dishes from the morning before. When I was almost done, Vinny came in, wanting a drink.

"Can you have more than one soda a day?" I asked. I think that is something that usually applies with little kids. "You had one at lunch."

"I can have…five."

"Vinny."

"Please?"

"Fine." I went and got him one out of the fridge. "But share with your brother."

"Ew!"

"Or Thisbe."

"Okay." He took the can when it was offered to him before running off.

I sighed, wiping my hands on the dishtowel now that I was done before pulling out my cell phone. I texted Eli just to say hey. I figured he was probably busy, given it was tourist season.

"Auden, Ralph is sleepy," Thisbe told me as I came back into the room.

"Is he?" I sat down on the arm of the couch. "Maybe he stayed up late last night."

Vinny, who was on the cushion under the arm of the couch I was on, giggled. "I stayed up late."

"Did you?"

"Yep!"

"After you finished throwing a fit?"

He shook his head. "I just wanted to be with Thisbe."

Thisbe, who was on the floor in front o the couch, petting Ralph's head, looked up. "I was with Auden."

"I know." Vinny looked like he was going to get worked up again, but his big brother, who was on the other side of the couch, distracted him.

"Vinny, look," Jordan said before interlacing his fingers and popping them all. Vinny giggled. "Can you do it?"

"No," he said after he attempted. "Auden?"

I halfheartedly tried. "Nope."

"Thisbe?" Vinny looked to his best friend. She frowned when she too wasn't able to pop them all. "Jordan's amazing! He's the best brother ever!"

"No!" Thisbe frowned. "Hollis can do it too. Huh, Auden?"

"I don't know," I told her, because, honestly, I hadn't heard from Hollis since Christmas. Unlike everyone else, Hollis took the hint and never called me. Once. I wasn't sure if I should be happy with that or not.

"'cause he can't."

"Shut up, Vinny! You're stupid!"

"Thisbe." I frowned at her. "Go…sit in Eli's room, by yourself."

"What?" She looked at me. "Why?"

"Because you're in trouble," I said, frowning at her. "You do not tell other people to shut up or call them stupid."

Now realizing she was in trouble, Thisbe began to cry.

"No!"

"Well…at least tell him that you're sorry," I said, gesturing to Vinny, who was watching in awe. I don't think he was used to seeing anyone, but him throw a fit.

"Sorry!" She crossed her arms and Jordan reached out to pat her on the head. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the TV remote. "I don't like you, Auden!"

"Well, I'm not particularly fond of you right now either," I told her while trying to find something to watch. Ralph suddenly let out a loud noise before jumping off the couch.

"Ralph wants water," Vinny told me while still staring at Thisbe, fascinated with her meltdown.

"Then go get him some. Jordan can reach the bowls that are drying on the rack."

The three of them ran off, their dog following, so I moved to sit down on the couch. When my cell went off, I saw that it was just Eli. He texted back that there was a change of plans; I was to meet him at his parents with all three kids for dinner. Great. Once again, I'm stuck at his parents' house. This is starting to get weird.

"Alright, guys," I said as the kids came back into the living room with me. "Did you get Ralph water?"

"Yes," Thisbe told me, now apparently fine with me again. "He went to sleep in the kitchen though."

"He's nappin'," Vinny explained, climbing onto the couch next to me. "Auden?"

"What?"

"Can I ask you somethin'? Somethin' that Grandpa told me not to ask Eli?"

I was prepared for a question about Clayton. "Sure."

Of course, Vinny threw me a curve ball.

"How come Ralph sniffs other dogs butts and I can't?"

I blinked. "Why exactly couldn't you ask Eli this?"

"Grandpa told me that I shouldn't ask nobody, that it wasn't important."

"Oh. Well…Ralph is a dog. You're a human. Dogs have a different…standard than we do. You do human things and dogs do dog things."

"Okay." Vinny looked at the TV before yawning.

"Is it your naptime?"

"I don't got a naptime. I'm a big boy."

"Yes," Jordan answered for him. "It is."

"How do you know?" Vinny frowned at his older brother, who seemed to no longer hold the title of the greatest brother in the world. "You don't live here! Shut up!"

"Don't tell him to shut up," I told him, frowning. "I thought that you just heard me tell Thisbe that? Say sorry."

"Sorry!" Vinny jumped off the couch. "I'm gonna go to sleep and not dream about any of you because I don't like you! Come on, Thisbe."

They ran off to Eli's room, which left me and Jordan. I had spent less time with him than Vinny and didn't know him that well.

"Do you want to watch TV?" I asked him. "Or something?"

He got onto the couch next to me. "I don't wanna watch the news."

I handed him the remote. "That's fine. Here. Watch what you want."

After spending about two hours with Jordan in which he showed me how to play some sort of Mario game on his DS, had me watch cartoon with him, and we played with Ralph, I decided it was time to wake up Thisbe and Vinny. When I got to Eli's room, they had taken all of the stuffed animals in the room and placed them in a line down the bed, separating it into two halves.

"Guys?" I walked in there with Jordan right behind me. "Thisbe, Vinny, it's time to get up. Come on. We're going to take you guys to Karen's alright?"

Vinny, who was on the side of the bed I typically used, yawned loudly. "Gonna see Granny? And Daddy? And Grandpa? And Uncle Jake? And-"

"Yes," I said, cutting him off. "Bathroom break before we leave. Vinny, Jordan, you guys go first."

"I go potty first," Vinny yelled, running out of the room. His old brother groaned before following. Thisbe smiled at me.

"Why did you split up the bed?" I asked her as she came over to me.

"Vinny did it. He was mad that you told him not to say shut up."

I didn't really understand what that had to do with me, but then again, I don't understand most of what Vinny does.

As the kids got ready to go, I texted Eli to ask if the dog could come along to his parents' house. He said sure, that he would be there a little bit late, that something came up that he would explain when he got there.

"Alright, guys, we're gonna walk to your grandparent's house, okay?" I went into the kitchen and hooked Ralph back up to his leash. He groaned like an old man, standing up. I still don't quite understand why Eli got Thisbe such a mature dog as oppose to a puppy, but I'm sure there's some sort of back story there.

"Can I hold Ralph?" Thisbe asked after all the kids had their shoes on.

"I don't think so, Thisbe. I don't want him to pull away from you."

She humphed, but didn't argue with me.

"I think that Ralph is the best dog ever," Vinny told me as we started out on our journey. I had already warned them that if they ran off too far ahead of me, they would be sent to timeout.

"Are Jack and Mommy coming?" Thisbe asked.

"No," I told her. "Why? I thought that you wanted to spend the night with Vinny tonight?"

"I do!" She jumped over a crack in the sidewalk. "Are you, Jordan?"

He glanced at her. Jordan didn't really look like his father, as Vinny did. His hair was lighter and he kept it long, like Eli used to. It was wavy though, as oppose to straight. He didn't really look like Kelly either, which I considered a blessing, but that's just me.

"I think that I'm gonna go back to the hotel with my mom, but I'll be staying there with my sister after Mom leaves."

"Good," Vinny said. "Thisbe and I don't like you."

"I like him," my sister countered."

Vinny frowned at her. "Shhh!"

Shaking my head, I said, "Thisbe, you don't have to do what Vinny says. He's not the boss of you."

"I know." She giggled when Ralph barked at a passing car. "Ralph is our boss."

"Yeah!" Vinny laughed along with her.

When we got to Karen's place, she and Joseph were ready for their two grandsons. They didn't get to see them a lot back when Steven was still living with his wife, but now they only saw Vinny, not Jordan.

"Are you sure the dog can come inside?" I asked Karen, staying out on the porch with him. "I can put him in the backyard."

"Of course he can come in," she said, to which the three kids responded with a cheer. Vinny had already claimed his spot in Joseph's lap when I got inside. Ralph went into the kitchen and collapsed on the ground, tired from his long walk.

"We should get Ralph water," Thisbe told Karen as they went in there. "Eli says that he can't have soda because he's a dog, not a person."

"That's very true."

"But Mommy says that Ralph is a person, so I dunno."

"Hmmm, that is confusing."

"Yeah."

I went into the kitchen with them, not wanting my sister to bother Eli's mother too much. "I can get the dog water."

"Honestly, Auden, its fine," Karen told me as she went over to the cabinet to get a bowl for the dog. I noticed that she got the exact same one that Eli got the day before, so I assumed that Ralph must come over a lot, considering he had his own bowl.

"Yeah, so leave," Thisbe said, but Karen corrected her. Unlike with me, Thisbe didn't throw a fit when told to apologize and rather just did it.

"Sorry, Auden," she said when prompted. Then she looked back up at my boyfriend's mom. "Auden's gonna go to plant corn in a fi-"

"Thisbe, would you stop telling everyone that?"

"It's what you said!"

"I'm doing an internship," I told her, sighing as I sat down at the kitchen table. Thisbe just shrugged, clearly unconcerned if she had her facts straight or not.

"I've heard," Karen told Thisbe before sitting down across from me at the table. "In July, right?"

"Yes," I said as Thisbe got down on her knees in front of Ralph, pushing the bowl of water closer to him. Ralph didn't seem to be thirsty though. "It's in Tyler."

Thisbe looked up. "I know a boy named Tyler. He's friends with me and Vinny. He eats boogers."

Karen stared at her for a second. "Thank you, Thisbe."

Nodding, she went back to caring for her dog.

"So you had a good end to your junior year?" Karen asked, turning her vision away from Thisbe and to me.

"Yes," I said. "I mean, it was just so much easier to get focused in my school work instead of…everything that was happening here."

"No one's saying you did the wrong thing, Auden," Karen said, glancing up when her husband made a loud noise from the living room. "Joey? Are you okay?"

"I'm watching the game, Karen."

"What game?"

"Baseball. You wouldn't understand."

"Clearly," she said with an eye roll. "Try to be quieter, okay?"

At least we know who Vinny gets it from.

By the time Eli showed up, it was time to eat. He didn't come alone though.

Not even knocking, Eli came straight into the kitchen from the front door. At the moment, I was pulling corn out of the microwave for Karen. She had made chicken and rice for dinner.

"Hey, Mom," he said, coming up behind her at the stove and kissing her cheek. Karen rolled her eyes. "I brought someone else, if that's okay."

"Who?"

"Brooke."

"That's fine," she said, turning to greet their guest. Eli came over to me and kissed my lips before taking the corn from me and going to set the bowl on the counter.

"Were all the kids good?" He asked me.

"Fine," I said, frowning at the way Karen and Brooke embraced. Eli didn't notice though, instead turning to kiss me again. Thisbe, who was hiding under the table, chose then to jump out and surprise him, though I'm sure he had realized she was there long before.

"Rawr, Eli!"

He frowned down at her. "Thisbe, you scared me."

"I know." She hugged his leg before glancing over at Brooke, who had taken my vacated seat at the table, Karen sitting next to her instead of across like she had with me. "Hi, Brooke."

"Hi. I see that you brought Ralph."

"Auden did. Jack brought him to Eli's and Auden walked him over. Ralph likes Auden. She's gonna pick corn in a field in July."

I was tired of correcting her.

"Oh," Brooke said, frowning, but not commenting otherwise.

"You're gonna pick corn?" Eli asked me a minute later as went headed to the bedrooms to rouse Jake, who had somehow wound up living in his parents' house again.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up. She's talking about my internship."

"Right. I think you secretly want to be a farmer."

"Yep. I went to Defriese as a cover," I said as we got to his brother's room. He was passed out on his bed, snoring loudly. Rolling my eyes, I said, "Jake, get up. Come on, it's time to eat."

He mumbled something along the lines of he'll be there in a minute against his pillow. Eli shrugged, closing the door. Then we were standing in the hallway, staring at each other.

"Thisbe's spending the night here tonight," I told him. Eli stared into my eyes for a moment.

"What? Is that supposed to mean something?"

"No, I was just-"

"Are you wanting me to go out and buy condoms or lube or something?"

I elbowed him. "Shut up. We're in your parents' house. And no, thanks."

"You're loss," he said with a shrug before turning to walk away. "We can always just bareback it."

"You're about to get punched."

Eli reached behind him, searching for my hands. When I gave them to him, he just pulled me along behind him. "Now I have your hands. What are you gonna do?"

"Kick you?"

"Don't make me have to carry you, Auden." He glanced back at me. "You know I will."

"I doubt you- Stop. No."

Eli had turned around, ready to pick me up. He shrugged, settling for hugging me. I allowed that for a moment before pushing him back, not wanting someone to see us like that. Eli just kissed my lips gently before turning to head back to the kitchen for dinner.

"Is Steven not home?" I asked, getting a plate for Thisbe once we got in there. Eli made Vinny and Jordan's before setting them down at the kitchen table, where the kids would be eating.

"He's working late," Joseph told me as he got the three children juice. Ralph had been put outside so we could eat, but none of the kids seemed too upset by that. "Here you guys go."

"I want Eli to eat with us," Thisbe said, but he shook his head as he went to make his own plate.

"No can do, Thisbe. I have a guest."

"Thisbe's my guest," Vinny said, making sure that Jordan knew this. "Auden too! Auden, you eat with us."

"Yeah," Thisbe said.

Jordan nodded too. "We like Auden."

"Guys-"

"Its fine, Eli," I said after I had my own food. "I'll eat with you."

"I will too," Karen said, making her husband get an extra foldout chair for her.

"I'd say we all could eat in the dining room, but someone has been using that to house their things," Joseph mumbled as he gave me the foldout chair, as I let Karen use the one that went with the table.

"Joey, what's wrong with you today?" She asked, glancing at Vinny. I assumed that the stuff he was talking about belong to Steven. "You've been really uptight."

"We'll talk tonight."

"Ooh la la," Jake called out as he finally made into the kitchen for dinner. His father made a face before walking off. Karen sighed.

"Jake, you can eat in the living room with your brother and Brooke, but do not spill anything. And your father is in one of his moods, so don't bother him either."

"Aye-aye."

After he was gone, Vinny said, "You don't have to eat with us, Granny. We just want Auden."

She gave him a look. "You sit there and eat instead of just mixing your food up."

"That's how I eat," he mumbled, but knew better than to openly talk back to his grandmother.

"Have you met Brooke before?" Karen asked me randomly. I nodded a little.

"I did when I dropped food by the shop for Eli today."

"I told her how Auden's gonna pick corn," Thisbe told the boys. Rolling my eyes, I still ignored her, not wanting her to know that she was bothering me. I'm pretty sure that's why she kept saying that, just so I would correct her.

"She's such a help at the shop," Karen told me, as if this was shocking. I mean, it's kind of her job. I didn't let my annoyance show, though I wasn't sure why I cared anyways. She was just another person working at the bike shop. Albeit, she's the first woman, but how would that concern me? I don't care. At all. So there.

"I'm sure," I said, glancing over at Thisbe and Vinny, who were feeding each other again, giggling. "You two stop and eat."

"We are eating, Auden," Thisbe said.

"Yeah!" Vinny picked up a handful of rice and tried to shove it down my sister's throat.

"You're making a mess."

"No!"

"Vinny." Karen sat up straighter, staring hard at him. "You stop it."

He whined, but went back to eating his own dinner. Once dinner was over, Vinny and Thisbe went to get ready for bed, which meant Eli got stuck helping. So, I ended up in the living room with Eli's parents, Jordan, Jake, and…Brooke. I held down my unknown displeasure.

"You're getting too big for this," Joseph groaned as he pulled Jordan into his lap. Karen, who was sitting on the arm of the chair, pushed his head a little bit.

"Behave," she told him before reaching out to ruffle Jordan's hair. "Grandpa's just grumpy. He won't tell us why though."

"Tonight, Karen. I said I'll talk to you tonight."

"Don't get an attitude with me, Joseph. If you're going to be like that you, can just-"

"I'm not angry with you, Karen." He moved Jordan to the ground and pulled his wife into his lap. "I'm not."

"Alright then."

He kissed the back of her neck, sighing a little bit. Jordan headed over to the couch, where I was sitting on one end, Brooke on the other, and Jake in the middle.

"Uncle Jake."

"Come here." Jake picked him up. "Don't worry, no one likes me either."

I poked him. "Don't tell him that, Jake. We like you, Jordan. Just not Jake."

Jordan just giggled.

"Alright, they're both dressed for bed and are in Vinny's room. Can't promise anything, but they looked sleepy." Eli came back into the room, his hat back on his head. "They're yours for the rest of the night."

"That's great," Joseph told him, glancing at the television. It was one some game show and I could tell that the wanted to change the channel, but Karen was watching it.

"We can go now, guys," Eli told Brooke and me. "Come on."

Jake frowned. "Are you sure I can't go out, Dad?"

"No, you can't," he said as Eli came to tell Jordan goodbye.

"Your dad called and said when he gets off work, he'll come here and pick you up to take you to be with your mom, okay?"

"Alright. Bye, Uncle Eli."

He just patted him on the head. "I'll see you later, buddy."

After bidding his parents goodnight and getting Ralph, the three of us headed out to Eli's truck. He was putting Ralph in the bed of the truck while I went to get in the passenger side. There was one problem.

"Oh," Brooke said as we both reached for the door handle. Eli glanced over at us. "I'm sorry. You go ahead."

No freaking duh. I'm his girlfriend. Still, I just smiled at her and apologized also before getting in the front seat, her in the back.

"I'll drop you off at your place before taking Ralph back home," Eli told Brooke as he got into the driver's side. I noted that Clayton's picture was back in its proper place, but said nothing.

"Alright," she said, nodding a little bit. Eli turned up the radio and we drove in silence otherwise. Her place was a little out of the way, about a twenty minute drive out of the city, down a country road.

"She lives with her parents," Eli told me after she was out of the truck.

"Hmmm."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Alright then. Well, let's take Ralph back now, okay?"

"Sure."

Sighing, Eli headed back to Heidi's place. I went to the front door with him when we got there.

"Oh, you guys." It was Jack who answered the door, shirtless, and in jeans. I glanced behind him and saw Heidi curled up on the couch, watching some sort of movie. I had to admit, while Jack was older than her, he was a major step up from my father, who was old enough to be her father. "Heidi, we have guests."

She glanced up, shocked, before realizing it was just us. "Oh, Auden, Eli."

"And Ralph," Eli said, leading the dog into the house. I could detect a coolness between him and Jack, but that was probably due to the fact that Jack was a threat to the male role he played for Heidi and my sister.

"Where's Thisbe?"

"Her and Vinny are staying the night at Karen's," I told her, going to sit on the couch when she patted the spot next to her. "What are you watching?"

"They've finally made Barbara Starr's first novel into a movie. We rented it. Have you heard of her? She's very famous."

"I've heard the name before," I lied. Of course I've heard of her. My mother loathed novels like hers and spoke about it regularly. After all, Barbara Starr did live in my hometown.

"I just love her," Heidi said, smiling at me. She grabbed the remote and paused the movie before looking at Eli. "Any plans tonight?"

"Aud and I are just gonna go home for awhile and hangout," he said, taking Ralph into the kitchen to feed him dinner, I think. "Then I'll probably go out. Auden goes to bed so early these days."

Jack went and sat on the loveseat, clearly out put now that I was in his spot. Heidi sighed a little bit, looking at her watch.

"Was Thisbe good today?" She asked, watching as Eli came back into the room.

"As good as she always is."

That made her smile a little. After spending a few more minutes talking to my ex-stepmother, Eli and I left them to finish their movie. When we got back to his place, we immediately headed towards his bedroom.

"What's up with the stuffed animals?" He asked as we both laid down on our respective sides.

"Thisbe and Vinny took their nap in here," I said, shaking my head. "They divided the bed."

"I think we should keep it like this." He said. "You stay over there."

"Ha ha."

"It's okay. I'll stay over here too."

"Eli."

He finally moved to push all the toys off the bed. "So what's up with you in the truck?"

"What do you mean? I just move Clayton's ultrasound-"

"No, not that. I'm fine with that." He looked back up at me once it was just us on the bed. "I meant when Brooke got in the truck."

"We both reached for the-"

"Not that." He moved closer to my side, apparently not even following his own rules. "You were very uptight during the car ride. You didn't say anything to her at all."

"I don't know her, Eli."

"Is that all?" He moved up to line up our lips.

"Yes."

"Really?" Eli reached out to hold my waist. "That's all? Because if you're j-"

"I'm not."

"Okay." He kissed me. "I really don't want to talk about that right now anyways."

I shifted onto my back. "Really? Then what do you want to do?"

"I think you know."

"I think you'll have to tell me."

Moving to lay over me, Eli leaned close to my ear. In a hushed whisper, he said, "I want to show you that I love you, even after everything that happened."

"You love me still?"

Eli slipped his hands between my shirt. "I'll love you always."

"But I still-"

"Baby, there's nothing to be afraid of." He kissed my head as he pushed my shirt up slowly. "It's still just me and it's still just you."

"But Eli-"

"If you don't want to-"

"But you do."

"I just told you I love you." He moved back to slip my shirt over my head. "We'll stop here, for the night, if you want. I know that this is…different now, that things are different now, but we're still the same. Huh?"

"Yeah."

He moved back to stare at me. "Tell me what it is that you want me to do, Auden. I'll do it. I'll lay here with you all night and wait for you to think about it, if you want. Hell, Aud, I'll wait forever. You're the last person I'm ever going to be with, you hear me?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding a little. "I hear you."

"Okay then." He moved off me, resting his hand on my stomach. "I love you."

"I know."

"Good."

We both laid there for a few minutes before I moved to sit up. Eli watched me as I moved to undo my bra.

"What are you doing?" He asked, rolling onto his back when I pushed him.

"It's not going to take all night. You're the last one for me too."

Eli smiled a little bit, staring at my eyes, but clearly wanting to look at my breasts. "Guess I'll be staying in tonight."

"I guess you will."

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

When I woke up, I was on my stomach, my arms laid protectively over my head. But wait…my arms are by my side… Then I realized they were Eli's. I glanced to the side and saw that he was still asleep, but in an awkward position so that his arms were above my head, but his body was only resting on my shoulders, so that he was diagonal on the bed.

Shifting a little bit, I moved to try and make him more comfortable because, honestly, I couldn't see anyone enjoying sleeping that way. Eli moved quickly so that he was on his side, his back to me. I blinked a little bit before looking at the clock. It was only four in the morning. Yawning, I sat up to find that I was in Eli's shirt from the night before and a pair of my underwear. We must have gotten dressed after last night.

"You're on my side of the bed," I whispered to Eli, but didn't attempt to wake him up.

I remembered then getting up to use the restroom and Eli following me. Well, I thought he was following me until he veered off, headed towards to kitchen, where he promptly downed a glass of vodka and coke. Right now, laying next to him, I could still smell it and it made me want to separate from him.

When we had crawled back into bed, Eli laid on my side because it was the side that had the night table, where he sat his glass of vodka and coke. Right now, the glass was empty and I was cold, but I didn't move to get closer to him, because I knew he had to still be drunk. I hated that, him being drunk. I hated even more to think that I might be the cause.

Suddenly, Eli sloppily reached behind himself, searching for my body. When he found my side, he stroked it rather roughly before removing his hand and standing.

"Where are you going?" I asked him, but Eli just stumbled a little. Sitting up, I ordered him to lay back down, but he just picked up his glass and shook it at me before heading out of the room, no doubt to get more alcohol.

I laid there and waited for him to get back, but when ten minutes passed and he still wasn't, I got up to see what was wrong. I found him passed out on the couch, though I had no idea if he had gotten to his liquor before or not.

"Eli?"

"Mmmm?"

"Come get back in bed with me."

"Mmmm."

"Eli, please?"

Still, he didn't move, so I just went back to bed alone, getting into my own spot this time. The pillow stank of Eli and vodka though, so I flipped it over…to find a row of boogers.

"Eli! You idiot!"

That got him. When he got to the bedroom, he seemed panicked, thinking I was hurt or something.

"Wha'? Wha's wrong, Aud?" He leaned against the door frame.

"You got boogers all over my pillow."

"Not me."

"Yes, you."

"No."

"Then…" I glanced around the room and saw the stuffed animals that the kids kept in there. Of course. Naptime. "Vinny."

"Take my pillow," Eli said before pushing off against the door, making a running stumble to the bed. "Use me as a pillow."

"Eli."

He sloppily tossed me his pillow before crashing on the bed, mumbling a goodnight against the bed. I tossed my own pillow to the floor, sure that I would give Vinny a stern talking to later. Then I cuddled against Eli's pillow and went back to bed.

* * *

My phone going off woke Eli and I. He was grumbling about it when I finally picked it up off the bedside table, where it was vibrating loudly. It was only after I answered it that I realized it had been Eli's phone.

"Hello?" I answered, my voice coming out huskier than I would have liked. Eli moved closer to me, one arm coming to circle me.

"Uh, is Eli there?"

I frowned as I heard a female voice. "Yeah. Here, Eli," I said, making sure she realized that we were right next to each other and would assume that we were in bed together. So yeah, okay, sometimes I'm possessive. And?

He groaned, taking the phone from me. "Hello? Yeah. Nope. Auden. Mmmhmm. Until July."

So it was someone who knew me and our status. Good. I laid back down, putting my back to him.

"Kelly? Yeah, she's here. The kids too. She leaves soon though." He paused. "I really have a killer headache. Yeah, yeah, I'll stop drinking when I'm older. Bye."

After hanging up, Eli reached over me to put his phone back on the side table before wrapping an arm around my waist and kissing the back of my head.

"Love you," he mumbled.

"Who was that?"

"Linda. My sister."

"Mmmm."

Eli let out a loud sigh. "Last night was amazing."

"Really?"

"I told you then that it was." Eli snuggled against me. "I missed you, Auden. I missed last night too."

"More, probably."

"Nah." He kissed behind my ear. "Just being around you is enough for me."

"You're such a liar."

"Never."

We laid around for awhile before I got up, leaving him in bed. When I asked what he worked, he told me that he had the nightshift and to just let him rest, so I did. After a shower, I went to make some breakfast. Well, cereal. I was sitting on the couch, watching the news while eating it when Eli came out of the bedroom.

"I thought that you were resting?"

He just came and sat down next to me. "I missed being around you."

"Eli. God, you're like a bad one night stand, all clingy."

"You wouldn't know much about those, would you?"

"Would you?"

"Nope." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He was still shirtless, so I stole a peek at his tattoo. "You're my third and last."

"So I've heard."

"God, baby, I love you." He kissed my neck gently before glancing at the television. "News? Aud, there are perfectly good cartoons on at this very moment."

"False, Eli."

"What do you mean?"

"There is no such thing as a good cartoon."

"You're missing out," he warned, running a hand in a circle over my stomach.

"Eli, stop. I'm eating."

"Share with me."

"You're just like Vinny."

"Meh."

I held the spoon up to his lips. "Hey, Eli?"

He opened his mouth, letting me feed him. "Mmm?"

Cuddling up to him, I took a spoonful of cereal before speaking. "Can I go to work with you today?"

Eli stared at me for a moment, as if judging my movements. "If you want, sure, I guess. How come, though?"

"I just want to spend time together."

"Me too," he agreed, kissing my head. "I love-"

"Stop it." I pushed him away a little bit. "God."

"What?"

"That's all you've said for the past few hours."

"It's because I love-"

'Stop, Eli."

He scooted away from me. "I thought you wanted me to-"

"No."

"At least stop cutting me off." He crossed his arms before standing. When he came back, he had two aspirin pills in his hand and a glass of water. After taking them, he sat down next to me again. Though he wasn't keeping his distance, but we weren't snuggly either. When I finished eating, I went to rinse out my bowl.

"What do you want to do today?" I asked Eli after I got back into the living room. He was now lounged across the couch, leaving me my spot on his chest. I immediately curled up there.

"This." He kissed my head. "All day."

"Mmmm, can we get out of the kids?"

"They're not our k…Yeah, we probably can," he said, unsuccessfully saving himself from mentioning our lack of child. I laid my hand over his tattoo, stroking it. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just trying to get used to it."

"You're not even facing the TV. Do you not want to watch this?"

"I don't care."

Eli kissed my head before reaching for the remote, which sat on the coffee table. After he had it on some mindless cartoon, he passed out again, snoring loudly. I just closed my eyes, secretly loving the fact that we were like this again. It was different, sure, but it was still us. I loved that.

* * *

"Cats, cats, cats, cats."

"Dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs!"

"Cats, cats, cats, cats."

"Dogs, dogs, dogs, dogs!"

"Cats, ca-"

"Stop it, both of you. Neither of them is better. And, Thisbe, you've never even had a cat."

"Play with Cat Norman when I go to Ms. Mira's house."

"Yeah," Vinny agreed, now on the same side as her. I groaned, finally opening my eyes. Both kids were standing in front of the television, where Ralph had conked out. Eli was nowhere to be found, but Jake was there.

"That doesn't count," he told her. "Now be quiet. If you wake up Auden, Eli'll-"

"Too late." I sat up, which made Thisbe call out my name and a greeting. "Hi, guys."

"Thisbe's not a boy," Vinny said, casting me a dirty look.

"Oh, I know. I was just mistaken, that's all." I looked around. "Where's Eli?"

"He went to go get lunch," Vinny told me, coming to climb onto the couch with me. I frowned, removing my legs when he pushed them. "You know, Auden, you could've spent the night last night too. Like a big sleepover. Maybe you can tonight. Mommy is leaving, so Taylor and Jordan will be there too! And Eli can come. And Uncle Jake."

"And Mr. Steven," Thisbe added. "My mommy too."

"Uh-huh. And Grandpa."

"And Mrs. Karen."

"Ralph," Vinny added.

"Brooke!"

Then, at the same time, they both said, "And Jack!"

I blinked. "Well, I think that your grandma and grandpa might not like all those people over."

Vinny just cuddled against me. 'That's fine. Just me and you can stay."

"No!" Thisbe frowned at me. "No, Auden."

"What?" I finally stood up, leaving Vinny behind. "Why are you guys here anyways, Jake?"

"Mom made me take them with me. I was supposed to go and buy them lunch, but I'm kind of broke, so I brought them to Eli. He was kind of ticked, but he went to go get them burgers anyways."

"We like hamburgers," Vinny told me. "Well, I do. Thisbe's nasty and puts cheese on hers."

"No! Not nasty!"

"Yes. You're very nasty." He moved to hang upside down from the couch and I had a flashback of Jake doing the same thing, a few weeks before I lost Clayton, when I was over at the Stock's, watching a movie.

"No!"

"Stop it, guys," I finally told them. "I mean it. God, Jake, can you not calm them down?"

"No. They're not my problem. I just told Mom that I would take them because I was being nice."

"Oh, yeah, like you're suddenly some sort of nice person."

He frowned at me. "I am, Auden. You don't know anything. You haven't even been here a full week yet and you're already trying to bring me down!"

"No yell at Auden." Vinny grabbed a couch pillow and threw it at his uncle. "Bad, Jake! Tell Granny!"

He stomped off to the kitchen, defeated and probably also fearing the consequences if Eli came home to find him arguing with me. After he was gone, I went and gave Ralph a nice pat before heading to the bathroom. My breath wasn't the best and if Eli got back…well, I just wanted to…I don't know! God.

"Auden," I heard Vinny call as I was in there. "Are you pooping?"

That made Thisbe laugh rather loudly. Then the door opened and closed, shutting both of them up. I sighed, headed back out there to find Eli passing out food to the kids and his brother.

"Hungry, Aud?" He asked. "I got you food too."

"Thanks. What time is it?"

"Dunno." He gave the kids their food before heading into the kitchen with ours, I followed him after telling Vinny that what he had asked was very rude and to not do it again. He and Thisbe giggled, but agreed.

"Sleep good?" Eli kissed me as I came to sit at the table with him."

"Yeah," I mumbled, looking at my burger and fries. My stomach was slightly upset, so I ended up only eating half of my food, feeding the rest to Ralph even though Jake whined about still being hungry. After lunch the kids were, of course, wound up and wanted to play.

"I wanna be a king," Vinny yelled as I sat down on the couch. Eli, Jake, and the kids were building a fort. "Thisbe can be the princess."

"No! I wanna be queen."

"Ew, no. I'm not marrying you. That would mean that we have to kiss. You can be my daughter."

"No! Eli, you be king."

He ignored both of them and went over to me. "I'm gonna need those couch cushions, Aud."

I stood silently by as they built the fort, listening to Vinny and Thisbe. Eli and Jake seemed to be ignoring them, but I knew better than that. From listening to them right now, I could tell there was about to be a huge fight.

"I am king!"

"No! No! Eli's king!"

"No, Thisbe! You're stupid."

"You're stupid."

"You're stupid!"

"No, you're-"

"Stop it," I told them both. "I mean it. We do not call each other stupid. I thought we went over this yesterday? And Eli, can you not pay attention to them?"

"See, bro? I told you, Auden thinks she's some wonderful person that gets kids. She's not! She yelled at me earlier too," Jake complained, throwing a blanket over the fort. Shaking his head, he added, "She acts like she's some kind of great parent or something."

"Jake, shut up," Eli said, frowning. Then Vinny hit him in the leg. "What?"

"You don't say shut up."

"What?"

"Yeah," Thisbe agreed. "Huh, Auden? Now Eli has to go take his nap."

I shrugged a little bit. "I don't want to act like some sort of great parent by correcting him."

Not understanding what I meant, Thisbe just got on her hands and knees, crawling into the fort. Vinny followed her, still grumbling about being king of the castle.

"I didn't mean it like that," Jake said, staring at me. "God, you don't have to be so fucking sensitive."

Eli shoved Jake slightly before coming over to me. "Jake's stupid."

I shook my head. "That's a no-no word, Eli."

Groaning, Jake stomped off to the kitchen, leaving us alone. Eli kissed me gently before pulling back.

"Jake can go screw himself. Can I say that?"

"No. You have to say nice words about people."

"That's hard to do when my brother's being an ass."

"Eli."

Laying his forehead against mine, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"It's not like Jake can get to me. He's just throwing a fit, like usual. I thought you told me he was better?"

"He doesn't drink as much was what I meant."

"Ah."

"Yeah." I got another kiss. "You know though, Auden, I think that you're an amazing parent."

"From all, what? Four, five days I've been here?"

He shrugged. "You've kept Vinny under more control than I have ever been able to."

"Well, that's a start."

"It is," Eli agreed. "Now, do you want to get into the fort with me?"

"Well, it's blocking the TV, so I don't see much else we can do."

"Good point." He moved back, gesturing to the ground. "Ladies first."

I sent him a look. "Don't just stare at my-"

"Bad word."

"I was going to say butt."

"Lies." He gave my butt a light kick. "Although it does have it's nice qualities."

"Eli," I muttered as I crawled in there. Thisbe and Vinny were no longer fighting, instead making shadow puppets with the flashlight Eli or Jake had put in there.

"Hi, Auden," they both greeted, as if they hadn't just seen me a minute or so before.

"Hi," I said as Eli struggled to fit in there too. It wasn't until Jake decided that he didn't want to be left out that we ran out of room.

"Here," I said, reaching over and pulling Vinny into my lap, only because he was closest. I mean, I guess I could have sat in Eli's lap, as he was on my other side, but after that butt thing…

Vinny cuddled against me though, so I quickly passed him off to Eli, not used to that kind of thing. I mean, God, I hardly even know the Vinny. I don't get why Eli's family is so touchy feeling when he's not. I mean, he is more than me, but that's hardly a prize.

"Me!" Thisbe quickly climbed into Jake's lap, not one to be left out. "Ha, Vinny!"

He spit at her, which made me scoot even more away, now that there was room. Not a lot, but still.

"Okay, now what do we do?" I asked, making everyone look at me. 'What?"

"It's a fort, Aud," Eli said slowly. "What do you mean what do we do?"

"I mean exactly that."

"You've never built a fort?" Jake asked incredulously. "Really? Dang."

I shrugged a little bit as Thisbe returned fire at Vinny, spitting right back at him. "I never did much as a k- Thisbe, that landed on me and is very nasty! You stop it! Both of you!"

Vinny crossed his arms. "Auden's mean, Eli."

"That's why I like her." He smiled at me and I blushed, making Thisbe giggle, but Jake groan.

"God, seriously. Do I have to be present for this?"

"I don't remember anyone inviting you into the fort, Jake," Eli told him as Thisbe moved to get into my lap.

"I freaking helped make it."

"That's a no-no word," I said. Jake's right, sarcastic and all. I am an amazing parent. So ha! Thisbe giggled again, grasping one of my hands. "What are you doing?"

"Just lookin'."

Okay… I glanced at Eli to find him texting on his phone. "Who's that?"

"Brooke. She wants me to come in early." He glanced up at me. "What?"

"Nothing," I said, turning away from him. "Now?"

"Mmmhmm." He hugged Vinny before leaning over, planting a kiss on Thisbe's head. "You guys want to come with us or you want to stay with Jake?"

"Go with you, Auden," Vinny said to which Thisbe nodded. God, can he get more creepy?

"What about Ralph?" Jake asked.

"He sleeps in the back sometimes," Eli said.

"What? Did Clyde approve this?"

"What's he gonna do? Fire me?"

I wish I just had that approach to all my jobs. Then again, my answer would probably always end up being yes.

"Come on then, guys," Eli said, slowly getting out of the fort, carrying Vinny along with him. Jake gestured for me to go first, but after my own boyfriend's butt admission, there was no way that was happening.

"Children first," I told him after pushing Thisbe through. He gave me a look, but exited before I did. Eli was going to slip on his shoes. "Let me go comb my hair, Eli. It's a mess."

"Not that I wouldn't love for you to look your best-"

Jake and Vinny both made choking noises while Thisbe clapped.

"-but we don't got time. Besides, you look fine."

"I do not."

He came closer, running his hands through my hair, flattening it out I think. Or, well, attempting to. "There. Better?"

"No."

"When did you start to care what you looked like?" Eli asked, to which Jake shook his head.

"Bro, you never ask-"

"Fine, let's just go," I said, making a face. "God."

"Aud, I didn't mean it like-"

"Let's just go." I looked to my half-sister and her friend. "Get any toys that you want to take with us."

Eli came to wrap his arms around me as they ran off. "I didn't mean-"

"I know what you meant."

"Good." Kissing the side of my head, Eli hugged me tighter. "I love you."

"I told you to-"

"Sorry." He let go and went to put Ralph's leash on. "Couldn't help myself."

"This is disgusting," Jake complained. "I am not enjoying watch the two of you, Eli. I figured you'd be more sensitive to the fact that I am one of Auden's past lovers. Only past lover, really."

"We weren't lovers," I told him, frowning.

"I consider you my lover."

"Well don't," I said as Eli went to hurry the children along. "And be quieter. I thought Eli told you to stop mentioning that?"

"He doesn't seem to mind these days."

I just shook my head before walking out of the house, waiting out there instead of around Jake. He was really getting under my skin for some reason. When they all got out there, Thisbe was whining about not being able to hold Ralph's leash.

"Eli, I want to. Please, Eli? Please? He's my dog! Ralph likes me better. Eli, please? Please, Eli? Oh, please? Pl-"

"No," I finally told her when Eli's tactic of ignoring her wouldn't work. She and Vinny were supposed to be walking in front of us, but she kept stopping to ask about holding Ralph, nearly tripping me each time she came up short. I was standing next to my boyfriend, trying to enjoy the fact that we were holding hands and walking around Colby, like we might have before everything happened, but she was making it hard. "You can't, so just stop asking, alright?"

Thisbe stuck her tongue out at me while Vinny growled at Jake when he got too close to him. I just shook my head a little bit while Eli released my hand, wrapping it around my shoulders. Now I leaned against him, sighing.

"You don't have to be so mean, Aud," he commented as Ralph stopped by a tree to pee. We stood there, watching him. "She was just talking. Kids do that."

"I know." I glanced away from the dog for a moment to look at him. "You have to admit though that you like her better quiet."

"I do," he mumbled, smiling at me before turning back to Vinny and Thisbe, who were now being chased around by Jake. "Stay out of the street, guys," he called to them, as if he was dealing with three kids instead of two and one adult. "I mean it."

"Let them play," I said, wrapping my arms around myself. We had taken the long way to the boardwalk, meaning we were in a less used part of town, so there were no tourists or anything around. It was just us on the street at the moment. "They're fine."

It took twenty minutes to get to the shop and by then, Brooke was kind of angry with Eli.

"You said you were coming," she complained as we all walked into the bike shop. Eli unhooked Ralph and he ran into the back, where I heard him collapse, tired after his long walk.

"I'm here, aren't I? I clearly came." He looked hard at her for a moment. "I told you I'd come early to help you. Don't be a douche and complain."

"You-"

"Hey, hey, guys, chill out, alright?" Jake strode in as the peacemaker for some reason, coming to get behind the counter. "You can go do whatever it is you need to do now, Brooke. I'm here."

Vinny giggled, wrapping his arms around Eli's right leg. "Can we help you and Jake fix bikes?"

"If Auden can man the counter," Eli said, not even telling Brooke goodbye as she left. I wanted to know what that was all about, but then realized Eli was indirectly speaking to me.

"Oh, yeah, of course I can," I said, nodding a little. "I did come with you to work, after all. I have to be good for something."

"Baby, you're good for a lot of things."

Again, Jake made a noise. "Please, spare me this, Eli."

"Go get to work," his brother said before following him into the back. Thisbe called out for them before running after them, Vinny right behind. Sighing loudly, I went over to the counter, now not so thrilled about being here. I was hoping that Jake could take the counter and I could go into the back to hangout with Eli. Guess not…

It was a pretty busy day. Eli was stuck in the back the whole time, though I did randomly get bothered by Jake, Vinny, and Thisbe. Ralph, too, just stayed in the back the whole time. When I went back there once to ask Eli a question, I found the dog in the same position he had been in before. I was almost afraid that he had died and no one noticed, but then he started coughing in his sleep and I knew that he was okay.

"Hi, Auden."

I looked up from the magazine I was reading as Karen came into the shop, no doubt to get Vinny. She wasn't alone though.

"Hi," I said as Kelly walked into the bike shop also, Taylor with her. I wanted to know where Jordan was, but figured that he was either with his father or his grandpa.

"We came to get Vinny," Karen said, her smile clearly put on. She was probably mad about being stuck with Kelly. I know I would be. "Is Brooke here?"

I bit my tongue at my first response before saying, "No. That's why Eli had to come in so early."

"Oh. I hope everything's okay."

Me too…I guess… I just shrugged a little bit as Vinny and Thisbe came out of the back after hearing his grandmother's voice.

"Hi," Vinny said, rushing to his mother's side. "We built a fort!"

"Ralph is here," Thisbe told Karen as she went over to her. "He's very sleepy though, so he didn't want to come in here to see you."

"Oh."

I rolled my eyes. "Hi, Taylor."

She just stared at me until Karen elbowed her a little bit, making her greet me back. It was very brief though. I didn't really mind that, if only because I wasn't that fond of Taylor either.

"Hi, sissy," Vinny said, hugging her, though he was quickly pushed away. That just made him laugh. "Mommy, Ralph is Thisbe's dog."

"You've told me," she said. "Now get your stuff. We're meeting your grandfather for dinner."

"Daddy too?"

"No. Now go."

He ran off to get his stuff, Thisbe following. When they came back out, Jake and Eli were with them.

"Hey, Mom," Eli said, going to hug her. "And, uh, hey, Kelly."

Jake wasn't as nice as his brother and just pretended like she wasn't there. "Did I hear something about dinner, Mom?"

"Well, Joey was going to take the kids, Kelly, and I out for-"

"Cool. Count me in."

Eli frowned at him. "Jake, we're working."

"Eli, you're the boss and I'm your brother. Cut me some slack, bro." He patted him on the shoulder. "See you around, Auden."

"What about Thisbe?" Vinny asked, bouncing a little bit. "She's gotta eat too."

"Vinny, Thisbe has to go home," I told him. I mean, God, my sister just intrudes on all their family stuff.

"It's fine," Karen said. "You can come too. If you want, Thisbe."

"Yes," Vinny answered for her.

"Yeah!" Thisbe bounced up when he did also. "Bye-bye, Auden."

She and Vinny ran off to the back again, this time telling Ralph goodbye and getting Thisbe's stuff. When they finally left, Jake went with them, leaving Eli and I alone. Well, not alone, but I don't think Ralph counts.

Eli came over and kissed me. "Looks like it's just us again."

"Yeah."

"It's only seven right now, but I'm closing up at nine." He glanced behind him as a customer came in. "We'll get dinner then, alright?"

Around eight, we had no more customers and Eli had finished the bikes he needed to that day, so he came to sit with me at the counter.

"Isby does a lot with your family."

Eli shrugged, taking a sip of the Pepsi we were sharing. "I guess so. Besides Heidi, she doesn't really have anyone down here, you know? Heidi's family lives kind of far and your dad…So, I guess, my parents like letting her do stuff with them. It's no biggie anyways, because Vinny's always there. He gets bored if he doesn't have someone around that's about as smart as him."

"Then she didn't need to go. I mean, Jake went."

"Ha ha." Eli pushed my shoulder gently. "What's up with you and my brother today?"

"I don't know. He's just been very annoying."

I got a kiss on the head. "Today? He's been like that since he was born."

"You're so nice to your brother, why I'm shocked that you and mine don't get along."

"Ha ha, you make me laugh so much."

"Maybe that's why you're with me?"

He nodded. "Yep, definitely your sense of humor. Surely."

"So what do you want to do tonight?"

"Laundry first."

"That's fine. When exactly, though, are you planning to get wasted?"

"See, that sense of humor."

"I'm serious." I glanced at him from the stool I was on. His was a little bit away from me, but it was close enough that when I reached for his hand, I was able to interlace our fingers. "You drink a lot now. I just think that-"

"You've been back, what? Five days?" He withdrew his fingers from mine. "You really don't know anything."

I frowned at him. "Eli, I'm just trying to-"

"Stop, okay?" He shook his head at me. "I do not drink that much. You just think I do because freaking Steven or my mom or someone told you that."

"No. I seriously think that you do. I mean, God, this morning you-"

"I drank a little bit, so what? It's not the end of the freaking world."

"I didn't say-"

"Look, Aud, you're leaving in July, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then don't start a fight about something knowing we don't have that long left." He grasped my hand again, but just held it instead. Then he gave me a smile. "Let's close up now, huh? Take Ralph home and then go out to dinner? We can go wherever you want."

"I guess so."

Eli kissed my head. "Good."

When we got to Heidi's, she was there with Jack again, watching television this time. I'm kind of creeped out by the thought that if we keep coming around this time at night, we might interrupt something else. Something that I really want to have no knowledge of. Ever. Seriously.

"Is Thisbe back?" I asked as Eli let the dog lose. After his long walk here, Ralph quickly fell to the ground, going to sleep more than likely.

"She got home from dinner a few minutes ago. She's taking a bath." Heidi smiled at me. "So what are you plans for the night?"

"Right now we're just going to do laundry. I'm sure Eli has other things to do also, but I didn't ask." I glanced at him, but he was on his phone then, texting someone.

After telling her goodbye a minute later, we were headed for the door when she called out to me.

"Oh, Auden, I almost forgot. Your father texted me that he was coming into town tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Yes. Your mother too. I didn't tell them you were here though, in case you didn't want me to."

"Thanks."

"Though, you should be aware that it'll probably be all Vinny and Thisbe will be able to talk about."

"Probably," I agreed before walking out the door with Eli. We were headed back to his place first, to get his clothes and truck. On the walk there, the town seemed pretty much dead, so it was just us on the street.

"Supposed to rain tomorrow," Eli told me as we went along. "Seems pretty fitting for your parents to be coming."

"I think it rained the first time my mom came here too."

"Probably. Scary woman, your mother is." Eli elbowed me a little bit. "Hope you don't turn out like her."

"Trust me, I won't."

"That's what they all say."

"Oh? And you think that you won't turn out just like Joseph?"

"I won't."

"Sure you won't. You already yell at baseball games on TV."

"Every guy does that."

"My father doesn't."

"Your father isn't normal."

"You can say that again," I muttered. "You know, though, I don't think you'll be like your dad anyways."

"Oh yeah? How come?"

"He's way funnier than you. You can never be that funny."

I got a look. "You know, Auden, your jokes have really gotten old."

"I thought you liked my sense of humor?"

"Oh, I do." He wrapped his arms around me before kissing my head. "I love it. I love you too, you know."

"I thought we agreed that you would stop that?"

"No, we didn't. Well, I never did. You might want me to, but I can't."

"You can't?"

"Nope," Eli said as we finally got to his apartment. When we got in, he went into the bedroom to get his dirty clothes. "Hey, Aud, you wanna have sex again? I'm really down with that."

"Ha ha. Now you're the funny one."

He shrugged a little bit. "Sorry. I'm addicted to you."

"Right, okay."

"What? I am. It's your own fault." He started to put his clothes in a bag as I sat down on the bed. "Hey, you got anything you need washed?"

"No," I said, picking up his phone when he sat it on the bed. "So what did your sister want this morning?"

"Just to check up on me. Well, really, just to know what's going on with Steven and Kelly."

"Have they even filed yet?"

"Nope," he said, shaking his head a little bit. "They're going through one of those trial thingies."

"Trial separation?"

"Yeah." He finished getting his clothes before going over to me and pulling me up by my hand. "Come on, Aud, let's go. Dinner first, huh? Then we can go to Clyde's."

I interlaced our fingers. "Fine. Anywhere than Last Chance though."

"Auden," he said with a finger wag. "You are not going to last in this town if you do not come to realize that that is the only place to eat. Every. Single. Day."

"It is not."

"It is when you're out on a date."

I just rolled my eyes, allowing him to pull me out of the room. "So this is a date?"

"That depends. Am I scoring tonight?"

That just got him elbowed.

"I'll take that as a no."

"You better."

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

Eli didn't work that day, but that didn't mean much. He was always being called down to the shop to handle stuff, so we decided to soak up the few hours we had together before there was an inevitable problem by going to the beach. Well, Eli decided.

"But Eli, I don't want to."

"How come?" He slipped on his board shorts before looking at me. "The tourist thing? Trust me, you get used to them."

"I'm kind of a tourist too."

"What? Nah. You're with me, baby."

"Don't call me that. It's demeaning."

"Okay, just because your mother is coming to town doesn't mean that you have to be mean to me."

We were in his bedroom. I was still in bed, trying to convince him that we should just stay there all day, but Eli already had it in his mind that he was going to take me to the beach.

"Come on, Eli. It's the first day since I got here that we don't have my sister and your nephew."

"Can we do…that?"

"No."

"Then I don't care if they're here or not." He left his shirt off before turning to me. "Let's go. Come on."

"Eli, I don't even have a bathing suit."

"So?"

"So?"

"So," he began again, "we'll stop by Heidi's shop, eh? My treat."

Ignoring that, I said, "What about the fact that my parents are coming to town?"

"That's why we're leaving now, so that you can spend time with them when they get here."

"Eli…"

"What?"

"Uh, it's just that I have to go home tomorrow, so I figured-"

"What? Why? It's not July yet."

I rolled my eyes. "That's still my home, Eli."

"And?"

I sighed a little bit. "I just-"

"Well, if it is your last day here, then you should at least go to the beach once." He turned and walked out of the room. "Come on."

"It's not my last day. I'll be back. I just want to go home and-"

"Come on, Aud. Let's go to Heidi's and get you a bathing suit."

"What? I said no to-"

"Come on."

Groaning, I stood up and went out there. Eli was waiting by the door for me. "Eli, I don't want to wear a bikini. I really don't."

"How come?"

"I just don't want to."

He stared at me for a second before shrugging. "There's some pairs of my basketball shorts in my dresser. And put on one of my shirts. On second thought, yeah, do that. That sounds real hot right now."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."

"It does. Real hot. Sure we can't just stay here and-"

"I'm sure."

He just shrugged. "Alright then. Go put my clothes on. It'll be sexy."

"Sexy and hot are two different things."

He pointed back to the hallway. "Go."

"Whatever." I went to do as he asked. When I immerged from the bedroom, he had a knapsack on, but I assumed it had sodas or something in it.

"Ready?"

"Yep."

We decided to walk down to the beach, headed towards the bike shop. Eli was going to check in there and tell them all that he was busy. Why that couldn't just be summed up in a text was beyond me, but you know, whatever. This is Eli's idea, the beach thing. Who was I to go ruining it with intelligence?

"Hey, guys," he greeted as we came into the bike shop. Jake was spinning around on the stool in the front. "Anyone else here?"

"Brooke and Hector are in the back," Jake said as be came to a stop. "Hey, Auden. Dressing down today?"

Eli hit him in the back of the head before going off to the back. I stayed with Jake, though I wasn't sure why. It probably had something to do with Brooke, but I wasn't going to admit that.

"What's going on with you, Jake?" I asked evenly.

"Besides the fact that I got cock blocked last night?"

"Yeah, besides that," I said, not even wanting to hear that story.

"Nothing much. You?"

"Eli and I are going to the beach," I said as my boyfriend came back out of the back. "You're stuck here all day?"

"Just till three," he told me. "Unless, Eli, you want me to go with you guys to the-"

"We don't," he said, coming to wrap his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, Aud."

I waved goodbye to Jake before following his older brother out. Heading across the street, Eli called over his shoulder that he wanted to talk to Heidi real fast. Groaning, I trudged along behind him.

"Hey, Eli," the girl behind the counter greeted him. She was new and I didn't know her, but Eli just nodded at her before heading into the back. When he returned, he had Thisbe and Vinny.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"They're going to the beach with us," he said, taking off his backpack. "Where's Heidi, Cara?"

The girl behind the counter glanced up at him. "She went down the street for something. I didn't ask."

"Alright," Eli said, pulling out a tiny pair of swim trunks. "Here you go, Vinny. Go get dressed in the bathroom, okay?"

He nodded before running off. While we were waiting for him, Thisbe filled me in on where his siblings were.

Apparently Karen and Joseph had taken Steven's oldest two kids to the mall a few towns over. Vinny had been offered a chance to go, but he wanted to hangout with Thisbe, so he ended up here.

"Vinny likes me," she told me, nodding her head. "I don't like him. He's a nasty boy."

"Yeah, boys are nasty," I agreed as Eli frowned down at her.

"How do you know that he likes you?"

"How couldn't he like me?" She reached up and grabbed one of my hands, swinging slightly. "Auden, you like me, huh?"

"Yep."

"You like Eli?"

"Mmmhmm," I said as the girl at the counter got up and went over to some of the racks, reorganizing some of the clothes.

"More than me?"

"In a different way."

"Hmmm." She looked up at Eli. "I like you more than Auden."

"Good. I like you more than her too."

"Uh, I'm right here, guys."

Eli smiled at me as Vinny came back out of the back. Then he handed Thisbe her bathing suit.

"Do you need help putting it on?" He asked. "Auden can help-"

"No! I can do it alone." She stomped off and Eli just shrugged at me as he put Vinny's other clothes into the bag.

"She's a big girl now, Auden."

"That's great." I didn't really want to help her out anyways.

"So you want me to tell Heidi you took them when she gets back?" Cara asked, glancing over at us. "I'm sure she'll be relieved that you took them. Vinny's been a little butt today."

"Have not," he said, puffing his chest out. "You've been a butt."

"Vinny." I pushed the back of his head. "Behave."

"I behave! I behave good." He crossed his arms and started stomping his feet. "I-"

"If you cry, you can't come with us," Eli told him.

Sniffling loudly, Vinny let out a loud growl, but no tears escaped. Cara just shook her head as she went to sit back down behind the counter.

"Isby? Are you sure you're okay?" I called out after another minute passed.

"…No! Eli, come here!"

"I've got her," I told him, headed to the bathroom. By the time I had helped her figure out the complex world of a one-piece (it's not like I'm an expert either), Heidi had returned and was waiting in the front of the store.

"What are you doing?" I asked when she thrust bathing suits at me.

"You need to wear something, Auden."

"I'm wearing this."

"To the beach?"

"Yes." I glared at Eli. "I told you I was."

"I know," he defended, holding his hands up. "Heidi doesn't think you would look your best though."

"That's not what I said, Eli," she complained.

"It's what you meant."

"My mother will be here in a few hours. I don't think the first time she sees me in months it should be in a two piece. Not if I want to finish out my college years in Defriese instead of under her watchful eye at U."

"If you're sure. Really, Auden, you can-"

"I'm sure."

Thisbe handed Eli her clothes. "Don't lose them."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Yep." He patted her on the head before slinging the backpack on his back. "Alright, you guys, you ready?"

"Yep!" Vinny jumped up and down, now apparently out of tantrum mode. Eli ran a hand down his bare chest, watching as Thisbe told Cara and Heidi goodbye. I found my eyes drawn to his tattoo, but turned away before he noticed.

"Then let's go," he said, after also telling Heidi bye. I did as well, following them out of the shop.

"Are you excited to see Dad, Thisbe?"

She nodded, grasping my hand as we walked down towards the beach. "Mommy said that Ms. Vicky is coming too. Aren't you happy to see your mommy?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"I'm not," Eli told me. "Dr. Victoria West scares me."

"You do not have to say her full name every time you mention her."

"I think I do, Aud."

When we finally got to the beach, Eli took the kids out to play in the water as I sat with our stuff, watching them. Their play was quickly broken up as Vinny began to throw a fit, complaining that Thisbe had kicked water into his face.

"You sit here with Auden and act like a baby," Eli told him, sitting the four year old down next to me. "When you're ready to be a big boy, you can come play with us. Come on, Thisbe."

She stuck her tongue out at him before following Eli back out into the water. Vinny was crying so loudly that other people on the beach were looking at me, expecting me to calm him down. Damn Eli.

"Vinny," I sighed, watching as he kicked up sand and yelled. "Um…here."

Reaching into Eli's bag, I rooted around to find something that would interest him. All I found, however, was a soda.

"You want something to drink? Huh?"

He tried to take a deep breath and calm down, but it wasn't working out so well. 'I…wan'…my…mommy…and…daddy."

"Oh, Vinny, if you calm down, Eli will let you go play so more. Can you stop crying?"

He shook his head, reaching out for me. Cautiously, I pulled him into my lap and let him sit there until he felt better. Once he had stopped crying, he told me that he wanted to go back and play, so I walked him down to the water, where Eli was still playing with Thisbe.

"Hey, Auden," he sang as he lifted Thisbe up out of the water. She fought Eli until he sat her back down. "Is Vinny all better?"

Nodding, I sat him down, turning to go back to Eli's backpack when Vinny wrapped his arms around my leg, almost tripping me. "Hey!"

"Play with us."

"Knock it off," I complained, tossing him away from me. "Your getting my shoes wet."

"Auden's not much a fun person, Vin," I heard Eli tell him as I went back over to my spot and sat down. I spent my time by alternating between watching them and texting Maggie. It had been nearly a week since I had last seen her and there was a lot to talk about.

"Alright, Aud, time to head back."

I glanced up to see what was blocking my sunlight only to find it was a dripping wet Eli with my half-sister perched on his shoulders. Vinny was clutching his leg, giggling widely about something.

"Already?"

"I have to take these two home to be ready in time for your parent's arrival." He slung the bag over his shoulders. "Come on, Thisbe."

"You know, Eli, you should have brought a towel."

"That takes planning, Aud. I'm not a planner. I'm a doer."

"Right. Sure."

He reached down and pulled me up, making Thisbe giggle. "We don't think that you had a very good time today, Auden."

"I had a great time." Honestly, I had been planning to hang out alone with Eli, but…I guess I can't really complain. I got him alone last night. Besides, after we ditch my parents, it'll just be me and him…I hope.

"Eli, I want ice cream."

"And I want a sports car and a hot girlfriend."

I elbowed him.

"You know what I mean."

"No, I really think I don't."

He groaned as Thisbe began to pat out a beat on his head. "I forgot how annoying being in a relationship really could be."

"You're about to get it, so I would stop now."

"Yeah, yeah."

Vinny jumped off Eli's leg. "So, Auden, I's wonderin'…you wanna play firefighter with me? You can come over to Ganny's."

"Sorry, Vin, but Auden's gonna stay with me today. After we drop you two off with Robert and Dr. Victoria West, we've got plans."

"We do?" I asked to which he nodded.

"Nothing I can say in front of them, though."

"Eli."

"What?" He looked up at Thisbe, who just smiled down at him. "Hey, you."

"Hi."

"We're all wet. We have to go back to my house and get dry, huh?"

"Yeah."

Vinny humphed. "I wanna be with Auden today. Ms. Vicky is mean."

"You could always just go back home, you know," Eli told him. "In fact, I'm sure your dad or Grandpa are home."

"I don't wanna be with Grandpa. I wanna be with Thisbe and you and Auden."

I wrapped my arms around myself, sighing loudly. "Your other apartment sure felt a lot closer than this one."

"Yeah, but not nearly as big."

For a moment we were both silent as we remembered why we had to get that bigger apartment. Then Vinny broke the silence by speaking up. Not that he's ever very quiet anyways…

"I've gotta go potty, Eli."

"Vin, you're a boy. You could've peed in the ocean."

"Ew," I said, making a face.

"Na-ah. I gotta take a number two."

"Double ew," Eli mumbled. "Vinny, you don't tell people that kind of stuff."

"How come?"

"It's not…good manners."

"I ain't got no manners."

"Me neither," Thisbe butted in. "Sometimes, when I laugh a lot, I fart."

"Okay, you're coming down," Eli said, reaching up and picking her up, making Thisbe giggle. "That's nasty. You're a girl, Thisbe. Girls aren't nasty. Look at Auden. She's never nasty."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Eli. Since, you know, I'm apparently not hot."

"I was joking."

"Hmmm."

"I'm hot," Vinny told us, fanning himself with his hand. "We're all hot. How come we couldn't stay at the beach, Eli?"

"Because we have to go see Thisbe's dad."

"Can he feed us? I want a fish."

"You want a pet fish or you want to eat a fish?"

Vinny giggled, holding onto my basketball shorts when he tripped. When he righted himself, he said, "Both."

Thisbe yawned loudly. "Can we take naps when we get home?"

"I don't take naps," he bragged. That reminded me of something.

"Vinny, the other day when you slept in Eli's bed…why did you put your boogers all over my pillow?"

Looking up at me, he giggled. "I dunno."

"Well, don't do it again. That's nasty. God, I had to wash my pillowcase, you know. If you do that again, you won't be able to sleep in our bed anymore."

"Not your bed! It's Eli's! You can't tell me what to do!"

"No, but I can," Eli said. "I agree with Auden."

"I don't like you," Vinny yelled and I was afraid that he was going to run off into the crowd of tourists, but he stayed where he was. Besides, Eli would have easily been able to catch him. "I hate you, Eli! I hate you, Auden!" He spit at us both, dodging Eli when he tried to grab at him. "Stop! I hate you!"

"You stop, Vincent. I mean it."

Thisbe reached out to pat him. "Shhh, Vinny. It's okay. Shhhh."

He settled for just sniffling until we got back to the apartment. Once we were there, Eli made me go give Thisbe a quick bath and get her dressed before he did the same with Vinny, who was now just ignoring all of us.

"Vinny's a big baby," Thisbe told me as we sat down on Eli's bed, her stuffed animals up there too so we had something to play with. "Eli says that he just gets emotional a lot. Like a girl. I'm not like a girl though."

I poked her in the stomach, which of course made her giggle. "Are you ready to see Dad and my mom?"

She nodded. "Ms. Vicky and Daddy will probably buy us ice cream. Vinny and I like ice cream. He likes cookie dough best."

"What do you like best?"

"Mmmm…rocky road."

"Because it has marshmallows?"

"Mmmhmm." It was her turn to poke me in the tummy. "What 'bout you?"

"I like vanilla."

"Just vanilla?"

"Yep."

She seemed unimpressed. "Eli like neo…polish-man."

"Neapolitan?"

"That's what I said!"

"Okay, okay." I shook my head a little bit. My sister got distracted as Vinny let out a loud scream from the bathroom. Frowning, I told her to stay before going to investigate.

"Eli?" I peeked open to the door to find Vinny back in tantrum mood, jumping up and down on the bathroom floor. There was water everywhere and it was clear that Eli hadn't been successful in getting Vinny to take a bath.

"I," Vinny yelled, "don't have to take a bath! I don't take baths after I get home from the beach! You're dumb! You're all dumb!"

"Vinny, you're going out with Robert tonight. I need you to be clean and-"

"No!"

Eli, who was standing next to the tub, wet again from spilt bathwater, shook his head. "You know what? Fine."

Then he was walking across the room, towards me. I took a step back as he got to the door, frowning when he closed it.

"You stay in there and throw your fit," Eli called through the closed door. "We're not going to bother you."

"Eli," I said, grabbing his arm when he tried to walk away. "What if he gets in the bathtub and-"

"It's drained," Eli said, pulling me along into the bedroom. Thisbe was still on his bed, a curious expression on her face.

"What's wrong with Vinny?" She asked, staring at us.

"He's being a bad boy," Eli replied as he disentangled himself from me and went to change clothes. "Aud, can you grab my phone and text my mother that someone, her, Dad, Steven, anyone, needs to come and get him. Now."

"Eli-"

"No, Auden. He throws a fit every freaking day. I'm tired of being babysitter." Once he was in jeans and a t-shirt, Eli went to lie down on the bed with my half-sister, pulling her to him. "This one, now she's good. She's always good. He's always bad."

"I like Vinny," she told Eli as, finally, Vinny stopped screaming. I frowned at that as I got Eli's cell phone off the dresser and sent a message to his mother and father, knowing one of them would either know what to do with Vinny or come and get him. I have a feeling though that they too are tired of dealing with this. Just a hunch.

"Where are you going?" Eli asked me as I walked out of the room. "Aud?"

"Just checking," I said, heading to the bathroom. I found Vinny sitting down on the floor, breathing heavily. He didn't even look up at me. "Vinny?"

"Go 'way!"

Coming closer, I just stared down at him for a moment. "Did you get it all out?"

Nodding slowly, he lifted up his hands. When I picked him up, he just buried his head in my neck.

"It's okay, Vinny," I whispered, rubbing his back. This was awkward for me, as Thisbe was the only child I really had ever dealt with. Still, these passed few days…I dunno….I guess that Vinny's growing on me. "We all get angry sometimes."

"I sorry."

"I know you are," I assured him, ignoring his grammar mistake. "Sometimes you just need to be alone, to calm down."

By the time Karen got there, things had settled out some. When she came up, Taylor was with her, which riled things up a bit because the first thing she did was call Vinny a baby. This made Vinny, who was still in my arms, start yelling again, though Karen shushed him with one word.

"Stop."

That made him cuddle back against me. I was sitting on the couch, moving to stand now that Karen was here. Eli, who had opened the door, hugged his mother and told his niece hi before going to sit down, clearly still angry with Vinny.

"Vinny's sad," Thisbe told Karen as she went to tell her hello. "Can he still come to see my daddy?"

"I think that Vinny needs to go home and take a nap," Karen said, taking him when I got close enough. Vinny whined at first, but she quickly put a stop to that. "Shush, Vinny."

"Auden," he whined, reaching back out for me. She just bounced him a little bit.

"What Vinny needs is a spanking," Eli muttered, to which Taylor nodded. Glad they're getting along…

Finally, Vinny gave in, cuddling against Karen's shoulder, hiding his scowl. Thisbe stared up at him, frowning a little bit.

"Bye-bye, Vinny."

He just made some sort of noise in the back of his throat. After patting Thisbe on the head, Karen told us all goodbye before leaving.

"Eli?" Thisbe went to get into his lap. "How come my grandma don't come when I act like a baby?"

Reaching over to the coffee table, he picked up one of his fallen hats before placing it on her head. "You don't have one."

"Oh."

He bounced his leg slightly, trying to keep her calm. I could tell that Vinny's fit had drained him. "It's okay. You don't need one."

"I ain't got a grandpa either?"

"N-"

"Well, that's not exactly true," I said, coming closer before sitting next to Eli on the couch. Wrapping one arm around my shoulders, Eli waited for me to go on. "Dad's father is still alive."

She glanced at me. "Really?"

"Yeah, but him and Dad don't get along."

"How come?"

I shrugged. "Then my mother's mom is alive. Most of her family is."

"Count me out of that family reunion," Eli said, trying to ease the tension in the room that Vinny had caused. "I do not want to see what created Dr. Victoria West."

Leaning against him slightly, I said, "My mother's family isn't very close. They still keep in contact, unlike my father's, but they all sort of do their own thing."

Eli stretched a little bit before tightening his grip on my shoulders. "You know, Thisbe, one of my grandma's is still alive and both of my grandfathers are."

"Really?"

Oh, great, Eli's going to freaking live forever…

"Yep."

She touched his chest. "How come I never seen them?"

"My dad's parents live in Florida and my other grandpa lives in a nursing home, a few towns over. I go see him sometimes, but…I just don't think you should come."

"How come?"

"They live in Florida?" He asked, trying to distract her. "Because that's where all old people live."

"No. How come?"

"You can't see my other grandpa?" He patted her on the head. "He's not really…lucid for the most part, Thisbe."

"Lucid?"

He looked at me for help. Sighing, I reached out to run my hand over her head.

"Sometimes old people get, well, old, and forget things."

"Oh." She considered this before nodding. "Okay."

"I'll take you to see my dad's parents one day though," Eli promised. "Now, what do to do?"

"I'm hungry," Thisbe told him, taking the hat off her head to smell it. "What's for lunch?"

"You're gonna eat with your dad and Dr. Victoria West at one," Eli said. "That'll be here soon. I'm gonna take you to the hotel when Robert texts me."

Thisbe glanced over at me. "Ms. Vicky is a doctor?"

"Yes."

Nodding, she said, "I have a doctor kit. Mrs. Karen and Mr. Joey bought it for me when they took me and Vinny to the store."

"Not that kind of doctor, silly," I said, smiling. "Mrs. Karen bought you a doctors kit though?"

"Mmmhmm. She likes me." She put Eli's hat on my head. "I love you, Auden."

Smiling, I reached out and ran my hand down her head. "I love you too."

"What about me?" Eli moved to grab the remote off the coffee table. "Do you love me?"

"Can we watch cartoons?"

"The game's on."

"Then no." She moved to crawl into my lap. "I love cake. Can we make a cake, Eli?"

"You just had cake at Steven's party. And, besides, there's still cake at my parents' house. We can get some of it later." He kissed my head. "You look good in my hat, Aud."

"Thanks."

"You smell good too," he added, but I just shoved him a little bit.

"Later."

"Are we agreeing on that later?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Eli, it's only been, what, two days?"

"I'm making up for lost time, Aud. If it was up to me, that's all we would do all day."

Thisbe made a noise, clearly dismayed that we were having a coded conversation. "Eli, when Daddy gets here, do you think that he'll buy me ice cream? I do."

"If you ask, I'm sure he will." Eli stretched a little bit. He seemed rather tired today, which probably had to due with how late we stayed up last night. I think he was planning on sleeping all day, but clearly that wasn't going to work. I guess after we lose my sister and parents, we can go to bed. I hope so. I'm kind of tired too…

About twenty minutes later when Eli's cell rang, he got up and went into the kitchen. When he came back, he went into his bedroom to get his shoes before coming back.

"Come on," he said, picking up Thisbe when he got close enough. "Let's go."

"Was it Daddy?" Thisbe asked as he sat her down in front of her shoes and made her put them on. "Eli?"

"Nope. It was Jake. I need to get to the store."

"How come?" I asked.

"There's a, uh, situation."

"What?"

Eli sighed loudly, heading out the door. "One of his…women have showed up and is causing a scene or something. Then stupid Brooke had to get involved…anyways, come on."

We took the truck this time, but for some reason, I didn't feel bad about being around Clayton's ultrasound picture. I mean, I still gave me a disconcerting feeling, but not nearly as badly as it did the first time I saw it.

"Eli, can I sing?"

"Sure," he told Thisbe, turning the radio on softly. Damn him. I leaned against the window, sighing loudly as Thisbe belted out random lyrics for songs that she really doesn't even understand. Needless to say, by the time we got to Abe's Bikes I was more than ready to blow my brains out if it meant getting away from her incessant singing.

Without saying a word, Eli pulled the key from the ignition before rushing to get into the store. Thisbe giggled at his eagerness.

"Eli's fast," she said as I got her out o the truck.

"Yep." I was walking into the shop when Wallace came walking out. "Hey, what's-"

"Eli's here now," he said, pushing passed me. "Jake is no longer my problem."

"But what-"

"Later, Auden," he said, patting Thisbe on the head as he went.

I could hear screaming in there, so instead of taking Thisbe into some sort of heated battle, I changed my direction and dropped her off at Heidi's. My ex-stepmother was busy at the moment with a crowded store, but she did see me set Thisbe down and called out that she would watch her. When I got back across the street, the fight was still going. Only it wasn't between Jake and his, as Eli said, woman anymore, but rather her and Brooke.

"Oh, but I'm a slut?"

"Hell, yeah, you are!"

Frowning, I came into the building to find the two women standing in the middle of the store, arguing as my boyfriend and Jake looked on. Going over to them, I asked, "What's up?"

Jake shook his head. "I might have, accidentally, been out with Brooke last night after dinner with Mom, as friends, and then ran into this girl. She and I kind of hooked up last week. She's a tourist," he added, as if this explained something. "She thought that we were together or something stupid like that and flipped out. Then she just showed up here today and, seeing us together again, started to fight with Brooke. Again. She thinks that me and her are in a relationship or something."

"Gee, I wonder who planted that idea in her head."

"I have no idea."

Eli, who was standing there with an annoyed expression on his face with his arms crossed over his chest, shook his head. "You guys need to chill. Brooke, you are not representing the business well. At all. Shut up. And, Jake, get your girl under control."

"I am not his girl," the woman said, crossing her arms. "And who are you anyways, huh?"

Jake, leaned against the counter. "This has always been a dream of mine, Eli. Three girls fighting over me."

"I am not fighting over you," Brooke told him.

"Three?" I asked, frowning. "You think…Jake Stock, I couldn't care less about you."

"You know what?" The girl finally turned to look at Jake, who stared back at her with excitement in his eyes.

"What?"

"Fuck you, Jake."

"Good. Then leave," Eli said, which got him flipped off. Frowning, I opened my mouth to say something, but Eli laid his hand on my shoulder, shaking his head. I could tell that this was annoying him. After she was gone though, he allowed his true feelings to come out, directed at Brooke.

"What the heck was that? Huh?" Eli came out from behind the counter, coming closer to her. "How dare you, someone who's only worked here, what, four months maybe, think that you can just get into an argument-"

"Eli-"

"No, you shut up too, Jake," Eli said, glaring at him also. "You know what? Both of you, leave. Now. God. Fighting in the store? Are you serious? Go home, Jake. I don't want to see or hear from you again today." Then he looked back at Brooke. "You get out too. Now."

"Am I f-"

"I don't know, but I do know that you had better not show up here again until I call you."

She grabbed her purse before storming out. Jake opened his mouth to say something, but Eli just pointed, shaking his head. Once it was just us, Eli let out a loud sigh.

"I cannot believe them."

I sat down on the one of the stools. "You know that affect Stock guys have on women."

He glanced at me. "Not now, okay?"

I glanced at the counter. "Jake left his video game here. He'll be missing it."

Eli came to stand behind me. "That's Jordan's. Jake probably stole it."

"Probably."

Sighing loudly, he kissed the back of my head. "I'm gonna go get Thisbe. Can you hold down the fort for a few minutes? Wallace just went down the road to get a taco or something. He doesn't like arguments."

I just nodded, watching as he left. And maybe I attempted to play the DS that was sitting there. I thought after the schooling Jordan had given me before I would be able to figure it out, but I wasn't. While I was busy trying to decipher it, I heard the front door open and close.

"Ah, Eli."

I frowned, glancing up, trying to figure out why anyone would think I was him. Then I remember that with my head bent down, staring at the DS, all they could see was his baseball cap on my head. Of course, after that, I realized who it was.

"Dad?"

"Auden?" He frowned. "What are you d…How long have you been in Colby?"

"Not even a week," I told him as I stood, coming closer. He quickly hugged me, which made me still for only a moment, mainly because that's how long the hug lasted.

"Heidi and Eli didn't mention that you were-"

"Daddy!"

We both turned as Thisbe came into the shop with Eli. He smiled at her before looking back at me.

"You should have told me you were here," he said as he picked Thisbe up. "I would have come to see you sooner."

Thisbe wiggled in his arms. "Can we go get Vinny, Daddy? He had to go home because Mrs. Karen thought he needed a nap. He threw a fit because he's a baby. I'm not a baby."

Eli came in also and took my hat back before giving it to Thisbe, who happily set it on her head. "I thought you were going to text me?"

"I needed to come talk to Heidi anyways," he said, shrugging his shoulder. "I figured that you would either have Thisbe or she would. No need to make you drive around, eh?"

"Can we get Vinny?" My half-sister asked again as our father sat her down.

"Maybe for dinner, okay?"

She wrapped her arms around his leg. "Can we get ice cream?"

"Later, Thisbe," he said before looking at me. "How long are you staying?"

"I'm going home tomorrow, but I'll be back the day after. I just need to go home and get some clothes and stuff."

"She's staying until July," Eli told him as he went over to the counter. He frowned when he saw that the DS had been turned on, but didn't comment on it.

"She's gonna plant corn in a field," Thisbe told him, shaking her head when he questioned her. "She's gonna be a farmer."

Rolling my eyes, I told him about the internship, trying to look passed him and see if my mother was outside. I couldn't see her though.

"I guess I should go," my father said a minute later when a customer came in. "I'll call you tonight, Auden? About dinner?"

"Sounds good," I said as they left. "Bye, Isby."

She waved at me and Eli before running off with Dad.

I hung around the shop with Eli for most of the day. He and Wallace were both working in the back, so I got to run the counter. I also attempted to play some more on that handheld game thingy, but I didn't do so good, so most of my time was spent texting on my phone. Around three, Eli sent me out to get us all burgers, but they even ate back there, while I had to stay at the counter. I was suddenly missing Brooke, if only because she would be the one stuck out here.

"Bored?"

I glanced up to find that Eli had come out of the back at some point and was over by some boxes in the corner, rifling through them.

"Just sleepy."

"Poor, Auden." He came over and gave me a kiss on the head. "You can leave now if you want. I'll send Wallace out here to man the counter. Here, take my keys and head home."

"Are you sure?"

"Very." He gave me another kiss. "Besides, you have to be fresh for your family dinner tonight, huh?"

"Oh yeah. So fresh." I took his keys. "I'll see you later, Eli."

"Bye." He ruffled my hair. "Leave the DS though. I don't want you to lower your IQ anymore. I like being the dumb one in the relationship."

"Trust me, Eli, that'll never change."

* * *

I was sleeping in Eli's bed when my cell phone went off, waking me up. Frowning, I checked to see who it was, but it was just a text from my father. He said that I was to meet him at seven at Karen's house, where they would be picking up Jordan and Vinny. My father seemed to be in a generous mood.

Sighing, I got out of bed, headed to the shower to get ready. After gathering my clothes, I went to bathroom, opening the door without thinking.

"Whoa, baby."

I frowned at Eli. "You could try locking the door."

"While I'm peeing?" He wagged his eye brows. "Tell me this isn't turning you on."

"It isn't turning me on." I closed the door behind me before setting my clothes on the ground, out of splashing distance. "Wash your hands."

"What? I can't shower with you?"

"I'd rather you not."

Eli glanced at me as he zipped his pants back up. "Alrighty then."

"Are you coming to dinner?"

"Am I invited?"

"Both your nephews are going, so I would think so." I moved to turn the shower on.

"Cool." He turned on the sink and started to get something out of the medicine cabinet.

"What are you doing?"

"You wanted me to shave," he said simply as he got a razor and some shaving gel out. "Go ahead and take your shower. I won't peek…unless you want me to."

"Shut up."

He just smiled, watching me as I waited for the water to warm up. "What do you want to do tonight? Sleep or go out?"

"Sleep, definitely."

"You've just slept."

"I know, but I just want to hang around here. You can go out, but-"

"I want to stay with you," he said as I finally got into the shower.

By the time seven rolled around, Eli and I were both ready to go and headed out. When we got to Karen's, my parents weren't there yet, but that was okay because Joseph had a new story for me to hear.

"Sit, sit, sit," he said as Eli and I came into the house. "And hurry."

"Why?"

"Karen's in the backyard right now, so I can tell you this without her getting angry at me," he said as he sat back down in his chair. "It's about Janice."

"Dad-"

"Now, now, Eli, it's not directly relating to her." He was smiling so brightly that I knew it couldn't be bad, whatever it was. "Guess what I did."

"Do we have to?" He took my hand, pulling me down onto the couch next to him.

"Guess, Auden," his father said, ignoring my boyfriend.

"Um….did you tell her off again?"

"Nope," he said with a shake of his head. "It involves buying something."

I smiled a little bit. "Tickets to Europe?"

"God, no." He made a face. "We are going on vacation though."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Next week. Karen doesn't know though. I'm gonna surprise her."

"That's cool," Eli said, looking around. "If it's a surprise, you better not tell Vinny or Jordan. To be on the safe side, don't tell Jake either."

"Oh, I know," he said, shaking his head. "Wait till Karen tells Janice that I'm taking her somewhere."

"Where?" I asked.

"California. No kids, no grandkids, no nothing." He looked at Eli. "I'm going to need you to watch over things."

"What things?"

"Jake, mainly, but also Steven. I know the two of you are fighting, but he has all three kids here, alone, and I want you to help him out."

"Jake and I aren't on good terms right now," Eli said, squeezing my hand. "Did he tell you about how he-"

"He told me that you were very rude to him because Brooke got into a fight with a friend of his."

"Oh, they were more than friends. Although very briefly."

"Eli."

"They are. You need to get him neutered or something," he commented dryly. "Ralph humps things less than him."

"Ralph's also, what, eighty?" I asked, but I just got shoved a little bit.

Joseph shook his head as the backdoor opened and Karen came into the room. She immediately went over to him and sat down in his lap. It was still weird for me, how open they are with their affection. It was almost like they were still in high school. They were surely more in love with each other than I'll ever be with anyone. Ever.

"I thought I heard you guys pull up," she said as she took the remote from her husband and changed the channel. He frowned, but said nothing about it. "Where are the kids, Joey?"

"In their rooms." He ran his hands down her side. "Eli and Auden are here to get the boys. Robert and Victoria are taking them all out to eat."

"Oh, they don't have to, Auden, really," she said, looking at me.

"Trust me; you guys take Thisbe out enough."

"What are we eating for dinner?" Joseph asked. "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry."

"I'm sure Taylor and Jake are hungry too."

"I'll have Steven bring home something, alright?"

"Why can't you make something?"

"Why can't you?"

"Smart, this one is," he told us, hugging her to him before slipping out from underneath her. "What if I make spaghetti? Do we have the stuff for that?"

"Yes."

"Then I can do that."

"Alone?"

"Ha ha. Smart and funny, eh?" He patted her on the head before heading into the kitchen.

Karen smiled, looking over at us. "Are you nervous about seeing your parents again, Auden?"

"Not really. I saw my dad, but he's not nearly as…" I looked to Eli for help.

"As annoying as Dr. Victoria West."

"Eli." I elbowed him.

"Don't be mean, Eli. And Jake told me about how you embarrassed him today. Don't be rude to your brother."

He rolled his eyes, but didn't talk back to his mother like he had his father.

By the time my parents got there, Vinny had come into the living room and was showing us all how he could do a summersault. Of course, he had to repeat the trick about eighty times, but hey, you know.

"Hi, Thisbe," he greeted as Eli opened the front door. "I took a nap!"

"Oh. I played with Daddy and Ms. Vicky." She patted my father's leg. He had been the one to walk her up to the door. "They bought me this," she said, holding up a stuffed dog. "He looks like Ralph."

"Maybe Ralph had a baby," Vinny suggested before looking up at my father. "Hi, Mr. Robbie. I can do a summersault. Wanna-"

"Later, Vin," Eli said, patting him on the head. "Tell Grandma and Grandpa bye. And come on, Jordan."

He waved to them and so did Vinny before they ran off to Dad's SUV, Thisbe following.

"I didn't know you got a new car, Dad," I said as I walked over to it, trying to keep my tone normal. I honestly was nervous about seeing my mother again. The last time I had seen her, I ran away with Eli, not even telling her goodbye. That seemed like forever ago now. I mean, sure, we'd talked on the phone, but never anything deep or serious. And my mother never holds back, ever. So it she's angry with me, she would tell me.

Eli, who hadn't let go of my hand yet, squeezed it as my father moved to help buckle Vinny and Thisbe up in their car seats.

"It's alright, Aud. If I can face the wrath of Dr. Victoria West after hitting her precious Hollis, you can too."

I was inclined to agree…until she got out of the car.

"Auden," she said, coming closer. I swallowed as Eli let go of my hand, not wanting to get near my mother. He used Thisbe's fallen stuffed animal as an excuse, moving to pick it up and give it back to her.

"Hi," I said, as she got to me. Instead of saying anything, my normally unaffectionate mother pulled me into her arms, hugging me much longer than anyone had since I got back. "Mom…"

"You should have told us you were here, Auden. We would have come see you." She rubbed my back a little bit before letting me go. "And honestly, Auden, what have you done with your hair?"

I smiled a little bit. "I like it."

"As long as you like it."

* * *

Dinner was mostly uneventful. There was a little bit of drama when Eli insisted on paying for me and his nephews, but he caved when I told him to just drop the subject. I knew that he felt kind of demeaned by this and that was probably my father's whole reason for making it such an issue, but I mean come on. I'm so done with egos.

Eli did, however, redeem his manhood in his eyes when he paid for the ice cream after. Then, after making sure that my dad was fine with Thisbe staying the night with him and my mother, we took the two boys back home. Vinny didn't throw a fit the whole night. I was afraid that we were just sitting on a time bomb, but by the time we got back to his grandparents, he had fallen asleep.

"Can you put him in bed, Eli?" Karen asked when she opened the door to find Vinny asleep in his uncle's arms. "He and Jordan are sharing your old room, so can you get him ready too?"

"Of course, Mom," he agreed readily, as he always seemed to do with his mother. "Come on, Jay."

"How was dinner, Auden?" Karen asked me as she went to sit back down in the chair. Joseph wasn't in the living room for once, so I assumed that he was already in bed.

"Fine," I said, going over to the couch to sit down.

"Eli behaved?"

"You mean Vinny?"

"If I meant Vinny, I would have said Vinny."

I smiled at her. "He was fine. Both of them were."

"Oh, I know. Vinny just needed a nap today. Eli has such a short temper with him." She rolled her eyes. "He's the same with Jake. Even Steven for that matter. He acts like he never makes a mistake or gets angry."

Actually, out of all the Stock men, Eli was the one that I had seen lose his cool or be down right rude the most. He was always upset and never satisfied with anything. Ever.

"Well, Jake was being pretty dumb today, letting those two girls fight."

She shook her head a little bit. "I love Jake, but I never will understand what affect he has on girls."

I blushed at this, looking off. Of course, Karen had no idea about Jake and I, but it almost felt like she was purposefully saying that.

"Me neither."

"Like with Maggie. I loved having Maggie around, but Jake was always so…wrong for her. He treated her wrong too. I had Eli and Steven try to talk to him, even Joey, but he's just never…straightened up. He still hasn't. He's not a kid anymore."

"Maybe he just hasn't met the right person yet," I offered it.

"Probably not," she agreed as Steven came into the room. "Eli's putting your boys to bed, Steven. You should go help."

"Ah, he's got it,' he said dismissively. "Where's Dad?"

"He's in the backyard."

"Doing?"

"I have no idea, I didn't ask." She shook her head. "He's been being so weird recently."

I smiled a little bit, but said nothing as Eli finally came back. He hugged his mother before telling her goodnight and that I was leaving tomorrow, which prompted her to give me a hug too. When we got out of there, I hit him in the arm for that one, but he just wrapped his arm around my shoulder, leading me over to his truck.

"What do you want to do?" He asked me once we got to his apartment. "Watch me play video games?"

"So I'm assuming that's what you want to do."

"Well…you don't have to watch, I guess, but-"

"Fine," I said, heading the bedroom to change into night clothes before returning with a blanket and pillow. Eli smiled, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it on the ground before getting onto the couch with me.

"Comfy?" I asked, smiling at him as he pulled my legs into his lap.

"Never been better."

We laid around on the couch for a long time, me half watching him play and half texting. Eli was really into his game, so I didn't bother him much. Around midnight, I had fallen asleep and was woken up by Eli getting up.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled, but he just shushed me, heading into the kitchen. When he came back, he had a glass with him, clearly with some kind of alcohol in it.

"You drink too much," I complained, but he just ignored me, turning off his game and switching to the television. "I'm serious."

"You wanna go to bed?" He asked, downing his drink while pretending that he didn't hear what I had said. "Or sleep out here?"

"I don't want to move."

"That's fine." After setting his glass down, he moved to fit behind me, wrapping me up in his arms. Then he kissed my head. "You sure you have to go tomorrow?"

"I want to."

"I just might have to go with you."

"Really?"

He kissed my lips this time. "Mmmhmm."

"That would be great, really. Are you off tomorrow?"

"I can get off."

"I don't want you missing work for me."

"I'll miss everything for you," he mumbled, slipping his cold hands under my shirt, kicking the blanket down with his feet. "Besides, after that stunt they pulled, Jake and Brooke owe me."

"What's up with you and her anyways?" I asked as he began to push the shirt up.

He pulled back, staring into my eyes. For a second I wish that his long hair was there so that I could push it away, but I also kind of liked being able to stare straight at his face with no obstruction.

"Nothing."

"Good."

Eli moved to kiss me again, but I turned my head. "What?"

"Here? In here?"

"Yeah, baby. It'll be hot, screwing you on this couch." He pushed his hips against mine. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah, but…that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" He asked, stilling his grinding. "Aud, if you're still uncomfortable with-"

"It's not that," I said, shaking my head a little bit. "I just don't want to here."

"Why not?"

"Can't we just go to the bedroom?"

"If you want. I'll do whatever you want." He leaned closer to my ear. "I'll always do whatever you want."

On the way to his room, Eli stopped to text Brooke and Jake, telling them what time they worked. While he was doing that, I got my stuff ready for tomorrow.

"Why are you packing up? You'll be back. I'll make sure of that." Eli dropped his jeans as he came into the room before jumping onto the bed. Rolling my eyes, I finished folding my clothes before getting into it with him.

"Will you now?"

"Of course." He pulled me closer, kissing my head again. "I love you."

"Eli-"

"That was one time today."

"Two."

"Nah-ah, Aud, midnight passed over, now it's the next day." My nose got a kiss. "Besides, you should be glad that I like tell you how much I love you."

"Why's that?" I slipped my shirt over my head, making Eli smile, pushing me onto my back gently.

"It shows what a good guy I am."

"Is that what it shows?" I stroked his tattoo, staring up into his eyes. Eli rested one hand over mine, stopping it.

"Yep."

Laughing softly, I closed my eyes, giving into him just like always.

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

"You have no idea how nice it is to walk into a place without having to ask if anyone has to go to the bathroom," Eli mumbled to me as we walked into the restaurant. "Oh, and going to a place without having to make sure that they have a playplace outside, so that they don't get bored while they're waiting for their food."

"You know," I told Eli as we waited to be seated. "You could always turn Heidi and your brother down when they ask if you can watch Vinny or Thisbe."

"Auden, I'm the best uncle/brother in the world. Why would I ever screw that up?"

"Maybe because you're not her brother?"

"I will be," he assured me as we were taken to our table. "Hey, do I get the honor of paying for this? Or should I call your father and make sure he's not going to try and one up me again?"

I rolled my eyes. "You can pay. Unless you want me to-"

"Aud," he complained, shaking his finger at me. "This is our first real date since we got back together. Of course you can pay."

"Eli."

"Well, you're the one that offered."

"Besides," I went on. "We went out that one day."

"Not really. We got burritos from a fast food place that, by the way, upset my stomach." He opened his menu. "This is an actual date. Be happy."

"I am happy." I smiled at him. "Very happy. And don't tell me that you're not happy about being out of Colby."

"I love living there," he said slowly. "But it's nice to be able to go out without seeing one of my parents' friends or some girl's father that hate my family because of something Jake did to her."

"Maybe that's why my father hates you," I offered up.

"All Jake did was give me an in to talk to you."

"And he also got to me first."

"Meh," Eli said with a shrug. "I don't think of it like that. I think of it more as…Jake might have been your first, but he was definitely your worst. Right?"

"Well-"

"Auden."

I just giggled. After the waiter took our orders, Eli began to talk about what I wanted to do once we got to my place.

"It really depends on if Maggie's there or not," I told him. "We could all go out to-"

"Have you told her that I'm coming?"

"Yeah. I texted, but she didn't text me back." I sighed a little bit. "You know, Eli, this can't really be our date anyways."

"Why not?"

"It's lunch."

"Then we're having a lunch date."

"Those don't count."

"They better count." He grabbed a chip from the center of the table. "When we get to your place, can I take a shower?"

"Why?"

"I didn't get a chance to this morning."

I made a face, but he just shrugged.

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Aud. I hardly ever shower daily."

"Shut up."

"I'm a guy. I don't have to." He smiled. "You like my smell either way, huh?"

"I'm gonna go with no."

He just laughed.

* * *

"Mmmm, you have the best food."

"Don't eat all those," I mumbled against Eli's chest as he reached out for the coffee table, where a bag of Cheetos sat. "They're Maggie's."

"I'll buy her some more later," he told me as he rubbed one of his orange covered hands down my back. I didn't mind as I cuddled more into him, trying to keep warm. I was very cold for some reason.

Eli and I had gotten to my place to find it empty, which of course meant we should spend a few hours huddled under blankets on the couch, eating garbage. Or at least that's what Eli thought. I just went along for the ride.

"I love Cheetos."

"I loved this shirt," I mumbled.

"Hmmm?"

"Nothing." I kissed his clothed chest. "Mmmm, I like this."

"This?"

"Being completely alone. No chance of Jake showing up, Heidi dropping my sister off, or your parents calling for a favor."

"You know when we get back, your parents will still be there."

"I know." I shut my eyes. "It wasn't so bad as I thought, seeing them again."

"It never is. You just have to get over you fear and go for it." He kissed my head. "Spend another week with me in Colby."

"I'll think about it."

"Spend the rest of the month."

"Eli-"

"A year. A decade. A lifetime." He smiled down at me when I opened my eyes to roll them. "We are watching a chick flick."

"You're the one that put it on that channel."

"I'm trying to be appeasing."

"Appeasing to what?"

"Your feminine side."

Shaking my head, I quick buried it back in his chest. "You're an idiot," I mumbled against his shirt. "You know that?"

"I'm your idiot though." He gave my head another kiss, probably getting orange flavored crumbs in my hair. "I love you, Aud. So much."

"I thought we agreed to cut back on that? If you say it all the time, it means nothing."

"I've gone months without being able to say it." He began to stroke my back again. "I'm making up for lost time. It's part of the new quest."

"New quest?" I muttered sleepily as I stifled a yawn.

"Yep."

"What's the main goal?"

He laughed softly, his touch becoming tender. "To get you to fall in love with me again."

"I am."

"No, you're not."

"I'm not?"

"Na-ah. Not yet. Soon though."

"How do we," this time I had to stop to yawn, "know though? When I am again?"

"Trust me, Auden." He interlaced our right hands as I drifted off. "We'll know."

* * *

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. And what exactly have I stumbled in on, do I suppose? Just Eli and one of his many wh-"

"Maggie." I groaned, lifting my head up slightly to find Eli still sleeping and my roommate standing in front of me. "What time is it?"

"What, no hug?" She just stared down at us for a moment before shrugging. "He sure is a heavy sleeper."

"He drank a little something earlier," I mumbled, closing my eyes again. "So how's your past few days been going? I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever."

"That's because you haven't," she told me as if I were dense. "Fine, though. Yours?"

"I got to spend them with him," I said, patting Eli's chest lightly.

"So it sucked?"

"Mostly." Finally just pushing off Eli, I stood up and faced her. "You know, you could have at least warned me that Eli was a drunk."

She made a face. "That I didn't know. What are you talking about?"

I glanced back at my boyfriend, but found that he was still slumbering away.

"He's gotten drunk every night that we've been together. Well, most every night."

"Eli?" She stared at him. "You sure you're not talking about Jake?"

"Jake's actually cleaned up."

I just got a look.

"Well, sort of. The point is that Eli's way worse now." I headed into the kitchen. "You sure did keep the place spotless while I was away. Have any visitors, Mag?"

"While the cats away, the mice will play, after all."

"Who was it?" I asked as I got a water bottle out of the fridge. "John?"

"No."

"Then who?"

She glanced back into the living room at Eli before telling me that we'd talk about it later. Shaking my head, I went back in there to sit down on the couch again, having to lift Eli's feet to accomplish this.

"Mmmm," he mumbled after I did this, wiggling his toes. "Wanna suck my toes, baby?"

"Maggie's here now, Eli."

He sat up quickly, looking around. "Oh. Hey, Maggie."

She just stared at me. "Toe sucking?"

I pushed his feet from my lap. "Never."

Eli cleared his throat, putting a hand up to his mouth. "So, uh, Maggie, it's good to see you."

"You too," she said, smiling at him. "I can't believe you're somewhere without Thisbe. This must be a first."

"Nah, but it was a real good reason though." He smiled crookedly at me. "At the very least, I got out of town while Robert and Dr. Victoria West are there. For a day anyways."

"How did that go anyways, Aud?" Maggie headed towards her bedroom, though she left her door open. "Your mother say anything to you? Something bad?"

"Not really," I told her as Eli moved across the couch to get closer to me. "She was very…nice. Unlike herself. So was my father, actually."

"Maybe they're just so happy to see you that you were there. Are they mad that you came back home today?"

"No. I think they're still in shock that I was there," I called to her as Eli came closer still. To him, I whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Marking my territory. You know how dogs are, they get to a new place, they have to show their ownership."

"You pee on me and I won't talk to you for way more than six months."

"Bah, I'll take my chances. Besides, it's not pee that I need to get out." He wagged his eyebrows.

"Down boy," I said, not amused. "You hump my leg and you sleep in the doghouse."

He just grunted, wrapping his arms around me. "Aye-aye, Captain Grumpy."

"…Yeah, you spend way too much time with four year olds." I leaned against him. "You smell bad. Go take that shower now."

"You know the old saying about wet dogs. They never smell good."

"Yeah, I think you butchered that."

"The point was that I like wet dogs though. Wanna go get wet with me?"

"What is up with you?" I shivered slightly. "God, Eli. We just did that last night. You do realize that most woman don't like doing that constantly, right?"

"Constantly? Babe, it's been me and my hand for months."

"Thanks, P!nk."

"What?"

I just shook my head, crossing my arms. "I just don't get how you can still be horny."

He ran a hand up my arm before standing. "Fine. I'll just go shower alone."

"Thank you."

Eli made a face before walking off, leaving me alone. I heard him go get his bag from my room, getting his clothes, before heading into the bathroom. The second he was gone, Maggie was back, wanting to know everything.

"So what's up with the two of you? Gotten it in already, huh?"

"Maggie."

She just smiled as she sat down on the couch. "In all seriousness though…are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we are."

"Have you guys talked about…anything?"

"Just that he doesn't blame me and that he wants to be with me even while I'm staying in Tyler." I sighed a little bit. "We haven't talked much about anything else though. After he showed me his tattoo-"

"His what?"

"He has Clayton's name on his chest," I told her, surprised that I could say that name without getting choked up.

"Oh, Auden-"

"Anyways, after he showed it to me, we just…we clicked again. I went back because I wanted to see Thisbe again. I mean, I didn't even think that he would take me back. But he did. And now we're together again. I'm just…I'm happy." I smiled at her. "Oh, and by the way, you could have told me that there was a chick working at the shop."

"Who? Brooke? She hardly counts." Maggie shook her head. "Me and her don't exactly get along."

"Really?" I was in shock. "You?"

"Stop."

"I'm being serious. You guys seem like you would get along."

She turned her stare onto me. "How so?"

"I dunno. You both alike, I just figured."

"What do you mean that we're alike? We're not alike at all."

"Maggie, I just meant that you both hangout with guys a lot. That's all." I shrugged a little bit. "I don't really like her either, if it's any consolation."

"Why? She say something to you?"

"No, just…I don't know. She's the only one working at the shop that's not a guy. And then I was at Eli's parents house and they were all so in love with her and-"

"So what? You're being territorial?" Maggie shook her head at me. "Trust me; she's too young for Eli to begin with and too boring for Jake."

"Oh?"

"Hell yeah." She shook her head. "Besides, you shouldn't be worried about Jake. I doubt he'll be with anyone permanently for a long time. Should I be worried, however, about how much you care about who he's going to be with?"

I shrugged. "I just don't want to, you know, end up like Eli's sister and Steven's wife. I want to get along with the person Jake chooses to be with."

"Long term thinker, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head, staring at her nails. "For someone that's always preaching about how you and Eli probably won't last forever, you sure did just write yourself into his family life right there."

"Ugh," I sighed. "I did not. I don't think…I just meant…I'm close to his family."

"Are you really?"

"Yeah."

"I was too." She shrugged. "Doesn't make much a difference."

"It does for us, okay? And Eli and I are…" Are what? I didn't know what to say. I lucked out and didn't have to say anything as Eli came out of the bathroom.

"I'm all clean now, Auden."

"Good," I whispered, still staring straight ahead. "Good."

He glanced between Maggie and me before saying, "Okay. Well, what do you guys want to do?"

"There's a party tonight." Maggie began to pick at her nails. "I'm going. You guys in?"

Eli glanced at me, but I was still facing forward, so I could only feel his eyes. "We don't go to parties anymore."

Maggie snorted, which Eli called her out on.

"What?" He came around to the front of the couch, staring at the two of us. "Has Auden been going to parties?"

"No," she said slowly. "I just did that because Auden never does anything. I thought that you being back would change that, but apparently not. That's all."

Eli was still watching me, but when I finally made contact, he was smiling at me.

"If she wants to stay here, all alone with me, I'll make no objections." That got a noise of disgust from Maggie. "However, Aud, I'm dog tired right now. Can I-"

"Bed's all yours."

After a few more minutes out there with Maggie, I went to join him.

"Mmm, Aud. I forgot what it was like."

"What?" I asked, slowly moving to lay down next to him.

"Clean sheets. I never wash mine."

"Oh, I noticed. I'm washing them when we get back, by the way."

"Mmm." Eli was laying on his back, shirtless, on hand rested on his stomach. "I love having you around again."

"Eli-"

"That was not an I love you. I mean, I do love you, but that doesn't count as one. Just thought you should know." He slanted his eyes as I moved closer to him. "Man, Aud, I missed being this close to you. You know that, baby?"

"Don't call me baby."

"Mmmm." He began to stroke his stomach now. "It's been forever since I've slept in your bed."

"I know." I watched him curiously. "Are you really going to sleep?"

"Till Maggie gets lost, yeah. Unless, you like listeners." His eyes slipped closed. "You know I'd screw you anywhere. Other than, like, an elementary school or daycare. Now, take me to a middle school or high school-"

"Shut up." I pushed his side gently. He quickly snatched up my hand though, moving it to lay it over his tattoo, letting out a long breath. It wasn't lost on us that the last time we had slept in this bed, it had been with a baby in my stomach.

"Do you ever think about it?"

We had been silent for a few minutes up to that point and I had to take a second to comprehend what he said.

"What?"

Swallowing, he kept his eyes trained on the ceiling. "What it would have been like. You know, if we had her."

I tried to clench my fingers, but he forced my fingers flat. "Eli…"

"I do," he mumbled. "I bet she would have had a blast when Vinny moved to town. Then she'd have Thisbe and him to play with."

After taking in a deep breath, I whispered, "She'd still be a baby right now."

"Yeah, but she'd be smart." He was smiling softly, but sadly. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. "She'd like to come to the shop with me. She'd have to. Or, maybe, my parents could watch her sometimes, but I wouldn't be like Steven. I wouldn't constantly force them to take care of her. You know? I wouldn't want them to anyways. Vinny knows me better than he knows Steven. That's sad."

I let out a long sigh, deciding to take part in his imagination.

"It'd be like that with me."

"Mmmm?"

"I'd never be there. I'd be at school."

"Nah. You'd come down on weekends."

"You still have the whole week to yourself."

Eli finally opened his eyes and glanced at me. "You know, the last time I was in your bed, we had the exact same conversation."

I stared at him for a second before rolling over, slipping my hands from his, so that my back was now to him. Letting out a long sigh, Eli laid there for a moment, staring at me, before closing his eyes again and going back to sleep. Once I was sure that he was sleeping, I rolled back over, watching him now.

Lightly, I reached over and removed his hands from his chest, bringing his tattoo back into view. Even though it had only been a few days since I had first seen it, I had already grown accustom to the little bear with his banner. Sighing, I replaced his hands with my own, yawning a little bit.

"She'd have loved you," I mumbled to Eli. "So much."

* * *

"Hi, Eli!"

"Hey, Thisbe."

Groaning, I cuddled more into my pillow.

"Is Auden there?"

"Yep. She can hear you. You're on speaker."

"I'm on the radio?"

"No, silly. It means that we can both hear you."

"Oh." She made a weird noise. "That's a tiger. Vinny said so too."

"Is Vinny with you right now?"

"Nope," she said as I sat up in bed to find Eli was on the floor, going through his bag. His cell phone was sitting next to me on the bed, apparently as my wake up call.

"Hi, Thisbe," I greeted, making Eli look up to look at me. "Where are you right now?"

"With Jack! Me and Mommy are having a sleepover. I like Jack's house."

"Mmmm." I leaned closer to the phone. "Have you seen Vinny today?"

"Yep. Just for lunch. Him and Mr. Joseph were eating at the taco place when we walked in. I said hi and he said hi and then I made a noise. He thinks that it's a giraffe noise. I think so too. Then he told me that I could spend the night, but I'm already spendin' the night with Mommy and Jack. I like Mommy and Jack. A lot."

"Mmmm." I glanced back at Eli to find him climbing back into bed. "Eli and I were taking a nap."

"Eli takes naps like a baby. I'm not a baby."

"I know you're not. Neither am I. He just influenced me."

"Influenced," she repeated. "Influenced."

"Yeah." I frowned at Eli as he picked up the phone. "Hey-"

"Thisbe, I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? For lunch?"

"Okay, Eli! Bye!"

"Bye." He hung up before he gave me a chance to say anything else. "Well, now that you're up-"

"That was rude," I told him. "Maybe I wanted to say something else to her."

"Maybe you did. Now, back to the important thing. Let's screw."

He just laughed when I pushed him. After one more shove though, he grasped my hands in his own, smiling at me.

"It was a joke, silly."

"Silly?"

"Yeah, silly." He gave me a kiss on the head. "You really are beautiful, Auden."

"Cut it out."

"No, seriously. Real pretty, you are."

"You're not getting any so I would just go ahead and stop."

He nuzzled against my neck. "You wanna go out? Please?"

"Go where, Eli?"

"Well, maybe, you know, go get something to drink."

"There are sodas in the fridge."

"Auden."

"Eli."

"You know what I mean."

"I know what you shouldn't mean."

He groaned, falling onto his back. "Lay on me."

"Eli."

"Just your head. I want to hold you. Talk to you. Make you fall asleep."

"…Why?"

"So that I can sneak out and get liquor."

I sighed, staring at him for a moment. "You really want to go out and get whiskey?"

Nodding, he added, "And tequila."

"You're gonna kill your taste buds."

"Baby, I can taste all I need."

"If that was some sort of perverted sex comment-"

"Just that I like how you taste. After all, you taste delicious." He wiggled his feet around. "So when are we heading back?"

"In the morning, I would guess."

"I can't make it that long, Auden. Please?"

"Eli, you're a grown man."

"Damn straight."

"If you want liquor, go get it."

He moved to stand.

"But, know this. I won't be happy with you. And I won't kiss someone that tastes like alcohol. Unless, you know, I taste like alcohol."

"You could drink with me. Do you still drink?"

"I drink, Eli."

"Then we could. Together. Get wasted."

"Eli, I don't-"

"I just mean, if we're gonna get drunk together, we had better do it here instead of down in Colby, where everyone knows us."

'You get drunk down there all the time."

"Different. It's not fun being drunk in a town you know so well. I want to get wasted, get lost, and wake up in someone else's clothes."

"You wake up in another guy's clothes, we're breaking up. Forever."

He rolled over to look at me. "Who said it would be a guy?"

"You're such a jerk."

He kissed my nose. "Welp, I'm going to get drunk. You in?"

"Come back with something, huh? Not something hardcore or anything. Something I would drink."

"Lightweight."

"And proud of it."

Pushing out of the bed, he asked, "Where's the nearest liquor store?"

"Heck if I know."

"Guess I'll have to find one. I like going to liquor stores instead of being like those pansies that go to a gas station. Oh no. You have to go where the real men go."

"So basically Gas/Gro doesn't sell liquor."

"Nope. Damn them."

I cuddled back into the bed. "Something sweet. I don't like bitter."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

I didn't wake back up that night and Eli didn't wake me up either. Which was fine. At some point, around three in the morning, I heard Maggie come in with some guy, loudly talking to him drunkenly as they stumbled to her room. Eli, by that point, was passed out next to me, so I just rolled over, cuddling into my drunk boyfriend.

"Oof."

"Shhh. It's me, Auden."

"Mmmm. Auden."

I could smell something on him, something strong. Bleh. Glad I feel asleep.

"Are you asleep?"

"Mmmm."

Sighing, I glanced at my nightstand, not shocked to find a bottle of some sort of alcohol sitting there. I couldn't tell what it was in the dark though.

"Do you like this? Getting so drunk that you can't even stay awake?"

"Mmmhmm."

"I think there's something wrong with that, Eli. I really do." Taking a deep breath, I said, "I know that I did wrong, when I left you. I just…I get it. You lost her too. Clayton. You lost Clayton too. And maybe I didn't deal with it well, but doing this every night, this isn't dealing with it at all." I rubbed my hand against his shirt, right where his tattoo was located. "I want you to be okay. I love you, you know? I want us to last a long time. A very long time. And we can't, if this is how it's gonna be. You know that though, don't you? You know I don't like this."

When he started snoring, I gave up, now just laying against him, trying to ignore the steady beat Maggie's headboard tapped out against the wall. Ugh.

* * *

Eli let me drive back to his place, as he was too tired to give a crap. It wasn't like I was going to let him drive anyways.

By the time we were back in Colby though, Eli was at least somewhat awake. This turned out to be a good as I hadn't even gotten to the apartment yet when we drove passed something that made us stop.

"What are you doing?" Eli jumped out of the truck the second I stopped. "Jake!"

I got out much slower, not really wanting to be involved. Jake was standing over some guy that Eli had just pulled him off of, clearly having been in a fist fight with the other guy. I didn't know who he was, but that wasn't unusual. I didn't know a lot of people in Colby.

"What the fuck, bro?" The guy jumped up, ready to pound into both brother's now, but I wasn't going to let anyone touch Eli. Ever.

"Knock it off," I said, coming to stand in between the three of them. "Are you okay, Jake?"

He jerked out of Eli's hold, but almost fell right back down. He was clearly as inebriated as Eli was just a few hours ago. I could tell that the guy was pretty wasted too, so I had no problem with holding him off from the two boys. Eli clearly didn't like that though, because he just grabbed me instead, pulling me back.

"I'd get lost, Smith. I'm serious," Eli said, getting into his face.

"Dude, you don't even-"

"Now," Eli said, shaking me off when I tried to grab his arm.

"You're fucking dead, Stock," he called to Jake from over Eli's shoulder. With that though, he walked off, leaving us alone.

"What the heck, Eli? I was winning!"

"Get in the damn car," he said, turning to shove Jake towards the truck. "God, Jake. What was that even about?"

"He slept with my girl!"

"Since when do you have a girl?"

"Since yesterday."

"Get in."

I rolled my eyes, getting back in the driver's seat. "No one 'has a girl', guys. You don't posses a girlfriend, Jake. And you don't own me, Eli."

They both ignored me.

"Dude, why do you always have to get involved in my shit?"

Apparently Jake wasn't that drunk, because he was speaking pretty clearly.

"Maybe because you have too much shit to deal with yourself," Eli offered up. "I mean, freaking God, Jake, you-"

"Guys, chill, okay?" I turned down the radio some. "I don't want to hear you two fight."

"Oh, shut the hell up, Auden."

Eli turned around quick. "You talk to her like that again-"

"And what, Eli? You'll hit me? I didn't even want to get in this car with you to begin with!"

"Then get out of it!"

"Maybe I will!"

"Good!"

"G-"

"Shut up, the both of you. God." I shook my head. "You two fight like little kid. Knock it off."

This time, Jake didn't say anything to me. Instead, he promptly fell asleep in the backseat, snoring loudly. Eli just shook his head, not saying anything for the rest of the ride either. When we pulled up to his apartment building, he frowned at me.

"Aren't you dropping Jake off?"

"You really want to drop him off, drunk, at your parents'?"

"He's not my problem."

"He shouldn't be theirs either. Besides, the kids are over there. Do you really want a drunk to be around the kids? I don't."

Groaning, Eli yelled at Jake to get up, that we were going into the apartment.

"I'm not," I told him.

"What?"

"You and Jake go up and sleep off the alcohol. I'm gonna go see Thisbe and maybe my parents."

"But, Auden-"

"Eli, just do it. Come meet me later. I'll probably be at Heidi's."

"Fine." He leaned over the center console and gave me a quick kiss. "I love-"

"Get out of the car."

Another quick kiss and he was gone. I made sure that he and Jake both made it into the apartment before taking off. The first place I went was Heidi's store, where she told me that my parents had taken Thisbe and Eli's nephews to the beach. Such fun. So, seeing as I didn't want to go babysit the two drunks at my apartment, I headed out to the beach to find my sister and parents.

This was easier said than done, but walking along the beach wasn't all bad. It wasn't an overly crowded day, which was nice. When I finally found my father, I found that my mother was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't shocking. I didn't peg her for a beach person anyways.

"Auden!"

"Hi, guys," I said as Thisbe rushed to hug me. She and Vinny had been building a sand castle, though it really resembled a mound more than a fortress. Still, I had to give them an A for effort.

"Is Eli with you?" Thisbe asked, glancing behind me, though she still held onto my leg.

"No, silly. He's at home," I said as I led her back over to the others. "Hey, Dad."

He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at me a little bit. "Auden. I didn't know that you'd back so soon."

"Hi, Auden!" Vinny jumped up to hug me also. "Hi."

"Hi, Vinny," I said, still not really used to his enjoyment of me. "How are you?"

"Good. Granny said if I have a good day all day, I can keep my lizard."

"Your lizard?" I sat down in the sand, smiling as Thisbe moved to get into my lap. "What lizard?"

"I's in the yard yes'erday and got one," he explained as he dropped to his knees next to his brother Jordan and went back to building the sand castle/mound. Thisbe, for her part, was busy grilling me on my time away.

"What did you and Eli do?" She sat up straight, staring at me. "Alone?"

"We just hung out, that's all."

"Did you see Maggie?"

"I did."

"Did you go to your apartment?"

"I did."

"You should take me there again."

"I will." I hugged her slightly. "I promise."

"You should take me too," Vinny butted in. "I ain't ever been there, to your house. It'd be swell."

My father stared at Vinny, bemused. "Quite the interesting vocabulary you've acquired, Vincent."

"What you tryin' to say?" He glared over at my father, weary of his words.

"I meant it in the best way possible, my boy," my father assured him.

"I thought so." He began to dig a moat around the caste/mound. Then, shoving his brother so that he could get the other side, he complained, "Move, Jordan!"

"Stop it, Vinny," I said, reaching over to grab his arm. "You don't push. I thought you wanted to keep your bug?"

"Lizard," my sister corrected.

"Whatever."

"Fine!" Vinny jerked out of my hold. "Fine."

Jordan just rolled his eyes. "You're such a baby, Vinny."

"You're a baby! You're all babies!"

With a sigh, Thisbe leaned back against me. "I dunno why I even like Vinny."

I thought of my own Stock boy and had to conclude that I felt the same.

* * *

"You wanna see a trick, Vinny?"

"What?"

We were all over at Eli's apartment, having a sleepover. Eli and his nephews were on the floor, stretched across sleeping bags, while playing videogames. Thisbe and I were up on the couch, where I was painting her nails for her. She insisted on having them all different colors.

And Jake?

At the moment, Jordan was putting ice cubs on his crotch, knowing that when they melted, the guy would think he pissed himself. Oh the joys of sleepovers.

"Throw me the water bottle on the table, Aud," Eli called up to me. With a roll of the eyes, I did as he asked, quickly going back to Thisbe's nails, though I kept an eye on Eli the whole time.

"Watch," Eli said, catching the bottle easily as he sat the Xbox controller on the ground. He began to twist the bottle in half before quickly opening the cap, successfully causing smoke to come out.

"Wow!" Vinny clapped his hands, curling up against Eli. "You're magical, huh?"

"I am. Ask Auden. I fill her up with magic all the time."

"Eli." He got a look for that. "God."

"What? They don't even get it."

"Still. You're so freaking dirty all the time."

"I went without you know what for so long-"

"Eli needs a bath," Thisbe told me. "Huh? Since he's dirty?"

"Yes," I agreed with her, going back to her nails. "He's muddy, huh?"

"Like a dog."

Today had been spent with my family, mostly listening to my mother and father bicker at each other. She showed up while we were at lunch in a mostly bad mood, though she acted pretty nice towards me. I think she was still happy with my return into her life, which was just as well with me, really.

"Don't get none of that nail polish on my couch, Thisbe," my boyfriend told her, his tone harsh, but in a playful way. "You hear me?"

"It's my couch! Auden and me," she said with an affirmative shake of her head. "Huh, Auden?"

"Y-"

"The fuck?" Jake shot up as Jordan, thankfully, had manged to get a safe distance away by that point.

"Jake." Eli frowned over at him. "No curse-"

"Who put ice on me?" The prank had failed, seeing as the ice had yet to melt, but Jake still woke up. "Eli, who the fuck-"

"You're out." Eli moved swiftly yet gently away from his youngest nephew before standing. "Now, Jake. I mean it."

"Screw you guys anyways!" As always, my meeting with Jake ended with him throwing a huge fit and storming off. Sigh. So uninventive.

"I'm sorry," Jordan said after his uncle had stormed off. "I didn't mean to make him upset. I thought it'd be funny."

"It's fine, Jordan," Eli told him as he fell back onto the sleeping bags with Vinny, who laughed at this, snuggling back against his uncle. "Jake needs to learn to watch his mouth."

I just sighed, leaving the guys to their business. I did, however, share a smile with Thisbe, glad that someone understood my position, even if they were only four.

* * *

"I think I can learn to like sleepover nights," I whispered to Eli as I moved down from the couch to lay on his sleeping bag with him.

Vinny and Thisbe had moved onto her sleeping bag together, surrounded by their stuffed animals and pillows, blankets sporadically laid across them. Jordan had taken his place up on the couch, having been the last of the kids to fall asleep, though he had been nodding off last night. Eventually, though Eli's videogames bored him too and he conked out.

"I like every night with you," he mumbled, not turning away from his game, though he did allow me to cuddle against him. "Mmmm. You're so much more snuggly than Vinny."

"That's because he smells like a nasty boy."

"Hey now. I smell just as nasty."

"Maybe nastier." I kissed his side. "I don't wanna go get in bed. I think I'mma sleep here, with you."

"That's fine." He turned his head only to kiss mine. "I wasn't gonna let you leave anyways."

"Don't stay up too late," I mumbled to him, shutting my eyes.

"I won't."

"And no alcohol with the kids over."

"Wouldn't think of it."

"I mean it."

"I know you do."

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

"I didn't know you played guitar, Jake."

He just stared at me for a second as I walked into the back of the shop. "Were you the one who put ice on me?"

"No."

Nodding slightly, he went back to picking at his instrument. He was seated on the ground, next to the mini-fridge they kept back there, barefoot and shirtless, wearing board shorts.

"I'm still learning," he told me. "Chords, the ones you don't have to bar, are easy, but the bar chords suck. And picking? It's hell."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"To get chicks."

"Figures." I went over to Eli's work area and sat down, facing Jake. "Shouldn't you be working?"

"Meh." He looked up at me again. "Where's my brother?"

"He told me to meet him here around three, but he's not here."

"He must have gone across the street."

I just shrugged, looking around Eli's workspace. "So…are there no bikes to do or what?"

"There are." Jake sat his acoustic down before standing and coming towards me. "You wanna watch me work? Would that make you hot?"

"Okay, ew." I was, however, interested in watching him work, if only because I didn't really understand what it was they did. Jake went over to his station before motioning me over, though I didn't come.

"I have to fix the brake lines on this bike," Eli's brother told me. "If you think you can stop yourself from throwing your naked body at me-"

"Shut up." I rolled my eyes as I heard the front door open and close, Wallace calling out a greeting from the front to whoever walked in.

"Auden in the back?" I heard Eli ask.

"She is."

"Thanks." When Eli came back there, he immediately went over to me, pulling me off the stool before kissing me on the lips. "Hi."

I smiled slightly, glancing over at Jake, who was now very intent on his work. "Hi."

"Are you ready to go get lunch?"

"I already ate lunch. You didn't?"

"Nope. You can stand to eat again." He pulled his cap off before setting it on my head. "Hey, Jake, you want me to bring you back something or-"

"I'm on a hunger strike."

"Do I want to know why?"

"Because Mom is leaving me."

"Her and Dad are going on vacation. You're not two. Grow up."

"Steven's gonna kick me out while they're gone."

"Sucks to be you, huh?" With that, Eli wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me out of the store. "Where do you want to eat?"

"Anywhere other than Last Chance."

"You're no fun."

"That's where I ate my first lunch," I defended.

"Fine." Eli led me over to the truck. "You wanna real lunch or fast food?"

"It's up to you, Eli."

Opening the passenger side door for me, Eli didn't say anything more, just closed the door once I was seated before coming to get on the driver's side. Yawning, I turned down the stereo some before buckling my seatbelt.

"You sleepy, baby?"

"A little. My neck hurts too."

"Probably from sleeping on the floor." Eli shook his head slightly. "Tonight, it'll just be me and you, huh?"

"Until you ditch me because you're not tired."

"Until then," he agreed. "So I was thinking."

"About?"

"Wallace has been dating this girl that plays Halo with him."

"How fun."

"You should play games with me too. You know, to help us bond."

"How about no?"

"Aud, you should at least try them."

"I won't be any good."

"And I'll teach you." He winked over at me. "As you know, I am a very good teacher."

"Oh god." Sighing, I leaned my head against the window. "You're very annoy sometimes."

"Thanks. I try."

* * *

We ended back up at Eli's with a bunch of tacos. I could only eat probably two, but Eli had to ability to put away about ten or twenty. So…yeah.

"I love tacos."

"Hmmm." I just watched Eli as he got crumbs all over the bed from the taco shell cracking all over the place. We were in his room, watching videos online. I was focusing more on stroking Eli's leg, considering that I wasn't that interested in the dumb videos he was. You can only watch people fall off things so many times before you just don't care anymore.

"You can have the rest," I told Eli as I pushed the bag of tacos closer to him. "I'm full."

He just grunted as I moved to lay down, still stroking his thigh. I just laid there, watching as he finished the rest of the tacos like they were nothing. When he finally laid down with me, I just patted his stomach, shaking my head slightly.

"You full, Eli?"

"Mmmhmm." He let out a loud yawn before reaching down to change the video on the laptop. "Comfortable?"

"Mmmhmm." I kissed his chest. "Are you gonna have to go back to work today?"

"Later tonight, probably." He smiled at me. "I don't want to though."

"Why not?"

"Take a wild guess."

Running a finger down his clothed chest, I asked, "Where're Vinny and Thisbe today?"

"With their parents, I guess." He stretched a little bit. "Your dad's last day is tomorrow, so I'm sure she's with your parents."

"My mom sure has been being super nice."

"Of course she has," he said, kissing my head. "She just got you back."

"You've been super nice also."

"Because I just got you back too." He smiled. "And I don't plan on losing you again."

"I don't plan on getting lost again."

Eli removed himself from under me, reaching down and picking up the laptop before setting it down on the floor. Then he turned back to me, quickly enveloping me into his arms with a loud sigh.

"Mmm." He kissed the side of my head. "Love you."

"Cut it out."

"What? You said that I couldn't say  _I_  love you. I just said love you." He nuzzled my head. "Besides, how come I can't tell you how much I love and missed you? Huh? You're everything to me, you know that?"

"Shut up."

"You are." He rubbed against me. "I love you, Auden West."

Rolling my eyes, I turned into him, hiding my face in his chest. "Are we gonna let Jake stay with us? While your parents are out of town?"

"Are we?"

"Well, you."

"No, no, I like this we stuff." He kissed the top of my head. "I guess he can. If you're alright with it. I know that you two get along better now, but I also know that having him around too long normally leads to you fighting with him."

"Only when he acts like a douche."

"So he's gonna have to find another place to stay."

Sighing, I snuggled into him. "We'll try. Or you know what, better yet, you tell Steven that he's a grown man with a freaking wife and kids. Jake's just a boy, living with his mom and dad until he finds his way. Steven's the one that needs to get the hell out."

Pressing his nose into my hair, he said, "Don't start stuff, Auden."

"I'm not. Steven's been a jerk since he got back and-"

"He and Kelly are going through stuff, okay?"

"And?"

"Auden-"

"He was rude to me, at the party."

"What?"

"Nothing, never mind."

Eli stroked my stomach, thinking. "I've always told you that if Jake's bothering you to tell me. The same goes with Steven. You mean everything to me. They're not taking you from me."

I popped my neck, before closing my eyes. "It's not that serious, Eli. And I kind of provoked him."

"Hn. Don't care. Still mad at him."

I yawned a little. "Why did he move all the way to Colby? Instead of just getting an apartment so he could still see his kids?"

"Don't know. We don't exactly get along these days."

"Still."

"I know that I hate him for it."

"Huh?"

Eli pushed up my shirt up slightly, stroking my skin now. "I'd do anything to get Clayton back and he just fucking leaves his kids? Then gets mad at me when I say something about it? Fuck Steven. He's a fucking asshole."

"Eli."

"No. He is. He really fucking is." His hand stilled now as he pulled me closer, nuzzling my neck. "Let's talk about something else."

"How about your taco breath?"

He let out a long breath. "You like?"

"I love."

"Hey." He kissed my neck. "You said that you love me."

"No," I said slowly. "I said that I love your taco breath. And I said it sarcastically."

"Did you now?" Eli let out a long breath as his phone vibrated in his jeans pocket. "I don't want to let you go yet."

"Just answer the phone."

After kissing my head, Eli moved away from me, sitting up to answer his cell. "Hello? …No. No. Mom, I- No. But…fine. Ten minutes. Bye."

"Who do we have to pick up?" I asked.

"Not pick up, Aud. We're having dinner there."

"This early?"

"Well, we have to go over there early to meet some people."

"Who?"

He just glanced at me. "Some of my aunts and uncles are here."

"What?"

"Yep. Come on. I get to go show you off."

"Eli-"

"They just showed up. I didn't know. If my mom had told me about it before hand, I would have made sure we were still at your place. Sorry." He sighed slightly. "If you don't want to go, Auden-"

"I'll go. If you want."

"I don't even want to go." He pushed out of bed. "Come on then. We'll pick up your sister on the way."

I just moaned before getting up. "Fine. Let's go."

* * *

"Hi, Vinny!"

There Vinny was, in the middle of being praised by all of his relatives, and still found the time to rush over to my sister.

"Thisbe!" He patted her on the head when he got to us. I sighed as I got out of the truck too, watching Eli as he closed the passenger's door after getting Thisbe out.

"You okay?" He asked as Vinny took Thisbe's hand and led her over to some of his family, who were standing outside, talking.

"I guess so."

Eli took my hand also, but unlike the two little kids, he interlaced our fingers before bringing my hand up to his mouth. "Then let's go."

As we walked up to the house, Eli's relatives moved into the house, which meant we had to go in too.

"Your mom's side or your dad's?" I whispered to Eli as we came into the house, making sure that Vinny and Thisbe followed.

"Dad's."

"So no hugs?"

He squeezed my hand. "I didn't say that."

"Oh, Auden."

I was quickly separated from Eli as someone pulled him into a hug while Karen grabbed my other hand and pulled me away.

"Hi," I said weakly, uncomfortable. Karen held my hand now as she excitedly introduced me to one or two of Eli's cousins before dragging me into the kitchen. Once there, she didn't let go of my hand, but did unload once we were out of earshot of her husband's family.

"Oh, Auden," she groaned, shaking her head. "Can you believe him?"

"Who?" I asked, looking around.

"Joseph." I could tell by her use of his full name that she was angry with him. "He just sprung this on me."

"Eli said that you didn't know they were-"

"I didn't!" She whispered hissed, letting my hand go. "But apparently Joseph did. He just forgot to mention it." Letting out a long breath, she turned and went over to the fridge. "I know why he really didn't say anything. He knew that I would say-"

"You would say what?"

We both looked up as her husband came into the room, his usually chipper mood slightly down, though out there, in the living room, it had been just as perky as usual.

"I would say no." She turned quickly again, now facing him. "You always do this sh…stuff, Joseph. You never think things through. How am I gonna feed them all?"

"I told you, I sent Steven out to get hotdogs. I'll grill."

"For this many people?"

"Then I won't eat, you won't eat, I'm sure Jake's to drunk to eat-"

"Oh, shut up!"

I was at this moment slowly making my exit back to the living room, hoping to not get caught. Of course, my wishes never come true.

"Stay, Auden," Karen ordered, not facing me as she now opened the fridge again, pulling out a pitcher of Kool-Aid before tossing it down the sink. "We need to make fresh tea and Kool-Aid. There's another pitcher, in the cabinet over there. Get it, please."

"Karen-"

"Shut up, Joseph." She didn't even look at him now. "Just…go away. Go be with your family."

"I don't know why you're-"

"Leave me alone."

"Fine!" He huffed. "Fine."

With that, he left, leaving me and Karen alone in the kitchen. We weren't for long though, as Vinny and Thisbe quickly found their way in.

"Guys, I think you should go play-" I tried, but Karen shook my head at me.

"You guys are fine," she told them. "Do you wanna help?"

"Yes!" Vinny went and drug a chair over to the counter before gesturing for Thisbe to stand on it, quickly going to get his own. "I make Kool-Aid a lot, Auden."

"A lot?"

"Twice."

"Oh," I said, smiling as he clambered up on his chair. Having seen Karen cook before, I mostly knew where everything was, so I went to the cupboard to get the sugar out. "That's cool."

"I know."

"I like your hair like that, Vinny," I said, taking in how he had spiked it with gel. "It looks very nice."

Really, he had over gelled it and it was obvious that his grandparents or father had let him do it himself. Which was cute, too.

"Thank you!" He smiled at me, reminding me of that creepy obsession he had seemed to form on me. Thisbe, noticing this, shot me a look as Karen gave her a packet of Kool-Aid open and put in the pitcher. Ignoring her, I went over to where I knew the pot was, putting water on to boil for the tea.

"Thank you," Karen said now, smiling at me, though I could tell she was still stressed. I glanced back at the living room and saw one of Eli's aunts, who I had met once, coming into the kitchen.

"Karen! There you are."

She rolled her eyes at me before putting back on her happy face, turning to speak to the woman. I told Vinny and Thisbe not to cause any trouble before finally heading back out into the living room, bypassing everyone so that I could find Eli.

"Hey," he said as I came up to him after finding him back outside with two of his male cousins. I had met them too, once, at a wedding of one of his relatives that I went to, my freshman year of college. "Where'd you go off to?"

"Your mom wanted to tell me something."

Eli just nodded before looking at his cousins. "Guys, this is Auden. Aud, this is Randy and Raymond."

"We've met," the older of the two said. They were closer to Steven's age, but Eli seemed to get along better with them.

"Hi," I said, watching as another car pulled up, Steven, Taylor, and Jordan getting out.

"What do you got?" Eli called out to him as we went to help unload the car.

"Hotdog, hot links, sodas, chips, burgers, and buns," his brother told him before telling his kids to take all the stuff around to the back yard. "Ray! Randy! Hey."

"Look at my strong girl," Eli bragged on me as we walked off to the back, me carrying two twelve packs of coke, while he had two twenty-four packs of Pepsi. "That's hot."

"Shut up," I said with a roll of my eyes. No one was walking next to us, so Eli found this the best time to ask me a question.

"So…what did my mother ask you?"

"Nothing. She just…she was mad that your dad's family was here."

"Ah." He smiled at me. "Sorry. I didn't realize she'd let you in on that."

"I think…I think that she likes me."

"She does. You're her favorite."

"Favorite what?"

Eli just shrugged as we sat down the packs of soda down on the porch. "Can you get the tables out of the shed? I'll go help get the rest of the groceries and stuff."

"Sure."

"Thanks, Aud." He kissed me quickly before taking a step back as his niece and nephew came into the backyard, carrying bags of chips and hotdogs. "Hey, guys. Can you go tell Grandpa to get out here and get to grilling, Taylor?"

She just gave him a look, but he took it as a yes while I went over to the shed to get those tables.

"What are you doing?"

There I was, struggling with dragging a table out, when someone else grabbed some, helping me.

"All these guys, and they're making you get the tables?"

I just smiled at Mr. Stock. "They were getting the groceries out."

"They always take the weak way out, my boys."

We were quickly joined by Steven as we began to set up the tables. When Raymond and his brother came over to help, Joseph sent me off to get some bowls, for the chips. When I went in through the backdoor though, I found that Karen was gone, now replaced by Eli's relatives, who had posted up by the kitchen table to discuss things. I didn't understand how so many of them came in a pack, but then again, I don't know much about families to begin with. Not their closeness, at least.

"And you're Auden, right?" One of the women asked me as I came in. "Eli's girlfriend?"

"Yes," I said, going over to the table when it was clear that was what they wanted me to do. The only guy seated there readily gave up his spot, taking his freedom and heading out into the backyard. "I am."

As I sat down, the woman closest to me, Eli's grandmother I think, said, "I had heard that you were no longer in the picture."

"Mom," one of the woman said while I just blinked.

"Well, I'm back now," I told her, remembering now that she and her husband, the guy that had let me have his chair, lived in Florida. They had come a long way. Something must be going on. Not very big, seeing as Karen didn't know about it, but something.

"That's so nice," the woman who had corrected her mother said. I didn't know her, but that wasn't shocking. Joseph's family was huge. He had a high number of siblings, mainly because you had to add in his half and step ones. It was all too confusing to me, so I never really pretended to know everyone's relation.

"Are you staying here now?" Another asked, who was seat across from me. "In Colby?"

"No. I actually have-"

"She's gonna plant corn."

"In a field!"

I looked over at the entrance to the kitchen to find Vinny and Thisbe coming into the room, some of Eli's younger cousins, roughly Vinny's age, with them. There were three of them, one girl, who was the oldest, around ten, and two little boys, younger than that by some amount of years. I knew that there were numerous little kids that always seemed fluctuate in Joseph's family, so these three must have been the only one's invited. At least my sister got something to do, other than bother me.

Ignoring that, I looked back at the woman. "I have an internship in Tyler that starts in soon."

"Well, me, personally? I would never leave my man alone in a beach town, what with all the woman that are always coming through here," the youngest of all the other women at the table, probably a few years older than me, said. I think she's one of Eli's step-cousins or something.

"When have you ever had a man, Sydney?" Another combated.

Now, feeling like I had to prove myself for whatever stupid girl reason that I will deny if anyone ever calls me out on, I sat up a little bit taller and said, "Actually, Eli's coming with me."

"What?"

I turned my head and saw too late that Karen had come back into the kitchen also, probably following after the kids. I couldn't go back on what I had said, however, so I just went along with it as best I could.

"We've talked about it. He wants to spend part of his time down there."

"What about his job?"

"He'll work something out," I said, standing now. "I was supposed to be getting bowls for the chips," was my excuse to the women at the table as I went over to the cupboards to do so. Karen just stood there, watching me for a moment before looking at the kids.

"You guys want to go outside and play? Just promise not to get in anyone's way, okay?" She went over to the backdoor and opened it for them. "And Thisbe, your parents will be here soon, with Ralph."

"Yay, Ralph," Vinny chanted, leading his relatives and my sister out the door. It was my turn to be shocked.

"Was that plural?" I asked Karen as I got three big bowls out.

She sighed, glancing over at her in-laws at the table before back at me. "Joseph thought that he should invite Robert. They had a few words last time he was in town, when your brother and Eli… And of course Heidi and Jack are coming, so your mother… I didn't plan it this way either, Auden."

She patted me on the shoulder before going to take my spot at the table, even though she apparently wasn't fond of these people, but knowing she had to face the music sometime.

"There you are," Eli said as I came out of the house, carrying the bowls. Taking in my face, he asked, "What's wrong? Did someone-"

"No." I sat them down on the table closest to us. "No one. It's just, uh, my parents are coming. And Heidi and Jack."

"What?"

"And Ralph," his father said as he came over with bags of chips to dump in the bowls. "One big, happy family, Auden. That's the goal here."

"We're not…" I looked to Eli for help.

"We're not family yet, Dad," he told him. Yet. Why did he have to throw down that yet?

"Yes, we are," he said as he finished with the chips, a certainty in his voice that I had only ever heard him use. Well, except sometimes my mother was that certain, when she knew she was making an excellent point about a novel. Looking up at the two of us, Joseph's face was had a solemn look that was rare for him. "We shared something. All of us. Even though we lost it, it doesn't mean it didn't exist."

I just looked at Eli as he left, but didn't know what to say. Eli didn't either, apparently, as he just kissed my head.

"I'm sorry."

"He means well."

"He always does," Eli assured me before shaking his head. "My brother forgot ice. Wanna go get it with me? We have to pick up Jake on the way."

"Sure."

"Good." Interlacing our fingers, he looked around for someone before finding my sister. Seeing as the two of us were the only adults that she really knew here, he told her where we were going and that we would be back soon, adding to ask his mother or father for whatever she needed.

"I know, Eli," she said as Vinny appeared behind her, having gotten water guns from somewhere, probably his grandpa. "Mrs. Karen loves me."

"I know she does." Eli patted her on the head and I told her that I loved her too before letting him lead me away.

"So what's wrong with your mom and your dad's family?" I asked Eli once we were in his truck, the A/C on. It was burning up outside, a perfect beach day. Or, a perfect lay around in bed with your boyfriend day. Damn Joseph's family for ruining that for me.

"It's a long story."

"I have time."

Eli glanced at me. "I meant it's a long, boring story that I don't even really know anymore. I guess, really, it comes down to, well, my mother's mom? She  _hated_  my dad."

"Not uncommon."

I got a grin for that. "No, guess it's not."

"Anyways."

"Anyways, when my parents got married, well…Auden."

"What? Tell me. You know I have no one to tell. No one important anyways."

"You know that my parents both went to school together, like, their whole life."

"Like most people in Colby."

"Well, yeah, I guess." He turned down the radio a little bit. "But they never really got along. At all. My mother's older brother and one of Dad's brother's used to fight. Constantly. Fist fights, everything."

"Such violence for little, old Colby."

"You'd think, huh?" Shaking his head, he went on. "So, anyways, you've heard the Janice stories."

"Which one?"

"About how my father asked her out, as he says, once in high school."

"Oh, yeah."

"If you ask my mother or any other sane person, you'll know that he was, like, creepy obsessed with her, all through out middle and high school. Which isn't uncommon, considering there are so few people your own age here-"

"No excuses."

Sighing, he said, "So dad tried, one last time, to ask her out to their 11th grade prom, but she said no. She was a senior and, though she didn't have a date, refused to be seen with him. My dad wasn't exactly popular with, well, girls."

"No kidding."

"Anyways, my mother was always in and out of school so-"

"What?"

"She was kind of a trouble maker."

"Your mom? Karen?" I sent him a look.

"That's why I didn't want to tell this story."

"Keep going."

"So, anyways, she didn't have a date, she wasn't even gonna go, really, but when he asked her, she went because…I don't know. I guess she had nothing better to do."

"And then it was love?"

"Then it was pure hatred of each other, but…every time after that, when he'd ask her out again, she'd just say yes. Always. They didn't get along well, but, I don't know, I guess they were sticking it to their siblings by being with each other or something."

I let that sink in for a moment before saying, "That doesn't really answer anything."

"Well, my mom cleaned up her act senior year and got into a college. Not a good college, but a college. And my dad, who still claimed to not be that into her, followed right along."

"So?"

"So my father was supposed to go to a university. He had scholarships. He was real smart back then, I guess. At that point, his parents had only had screw ups that got out of school or just didn't finish. So I guess Grandma resented Mom for that or something. Then they had to go run off and elope."

"Your parents?"

"I know. It's disgusting." Eli made a face. "And my mom wanted to go to medical school, which-"

"If you say she became a stripper-"

"Have some respect, Auden."

"Sor-"

"Exotic dancer."

"What?"

"I'm kidding." He shook his head at me. "Anyways, Dad dropped out, worked his ass off, and freaking helped pay for it all. With extensive loans, of course."

"Of course," I mumbled.

"So Grandma really hated my mom for that."

I took a second before speaking again. "I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"If they hated each other so much, then why did they do that? Why did he follow her? Or drop out for her? Or even marry her?"

"Because," he started as he pulled into a gas station. "Love and hate are two different things, Auden. As long as you feel something, anything, for the other person, there's still a chance for them."

"It's just so weird," I said as he turned to face me. "Every time I see them, they're so…so…"

"In love?"

"Yeah."

"Making up for lost time, eh?" Eli unbuckled his seatbelt before looking at me. "Be right back."

"Need help getting ice?"

"Just gonna get two bags," he said before leaning over the center console and kissing me gently, staying close even as we parted. "Maybe it was passion, eh?"

"Shut up." I pushed him away gently. "Hurry so we can get back."

"What's the rush? If you're counting on seeing my mom have another meltdown, you can cool down. She'll only explode when her and Dad are alone."

I shook my head. "I just want to be there when my parents get there, you know? So that if any punches are thrown, I'll know for sure who to blame."

With that, Eli got out of the car, headed into the gas station to get that ice. While I was in the truck, I got a text from Maggie, asking what I was doing and where I was at. When I told her, she just laughed, saying that she had to gone to plenty of the Stock's family things; I could expect Karen to be pissed as her husband for at least a month.

By the time we got back to the house, Jake now with us after getting him from the bike shop, my parents had not yet arrived. Someone else had though.

"The dog's here?" Jake asked as we walked into the backyard.

"Let the kids play with him. You leave him alone," his older brother said, but Jake just ignored him, running off.

"Come on," Eli said, leading me over to the ice chests. "Open one for me."

As we were filling the ice chest with drinks and ice, who else to come up, but Heidi.

"Oh, hi, Auden," she greeted as she walked up, her boyfriend in tow. "How are you today?"

"Good, I suppose," I said, standing as I finished with the chests so that she could hug me. Ugh. "You?"

"Fine," she said, smiling still. "And Eli, how are you?"

"Great, Heidi," he muttered, taking one piece of ice out of the ice chest and rolling it around in his hands, apparently hot. "Hope you don't mind, but someone gave the kids water guns to play with. Probably my dad. Thisbe'll probably get wet."

"That's fine, of course. I just hope they don't spray Ralph."

"Ralph'll be fine," Jack assured her before looking closer at me. "I met your mother the other day, Auden."

"Really?"

"Yes. Real treat, that was."

Heidi elbowed him, but I just said, "You have no idea."

After they walked off, Eli told me that he should go help his dad with the grill or at the very least, mingle with his relatives. He offered to show me off, which prompted me to tell him how derogatory that sounded, effectively ending his desire to do such. In the end, after walking around a little, I somehow ended up sitting on the porch steps next to who else, but Karen.

"Seeing a lot of each other today," she commented with a sigh. Without letting me respond, she added, "I can't even begin to describe how angry I am at Joseph."

I searched the people, easily finding her husband, no longer at the grill, but rather over in the far corner of the yard, where he had drug one of the plastic, little kid pools out from the garage, for the kids. Currently, it was still being filled with water, but the kids were happy still, chasing Ralph around while squirting each other with water guns. Mr. Stock looked just as happy watching them as they did playing.

"Could be worse."

"How?"

"You could feel nothing at all."

Karen stared at me for a long moment before speaking again. "Are you okay?"

I looked back at her. "About?"

Shrugging, she looked off. "You know. Everything."

I had never thought of Eli's mother as a confidant. By the same token though, I had never pictured her as being a bad girl in high school either.

"I think I have to be. Now. Eli gave me more time than any other guy would have ever given me. Nearly six months. I better be okay."

Karen was quiet for a minute or two before saying, "With Kelly gone, I'm more than happy to have you fill her place."

"You don't plan on carrying on the tradition?"

"What tradition?"

I nodded over at a group of lawn chairs, where I could see her mother-in-law sitting.

"There's nothing in the world you could do to deserve the amount of hate that woman has for me. Nothing that Eli wouldn't deserve, anyways."

Again, we both fell silent, each watching as the Stock family interacted with each other, neither really a part of it, but also not completely separated from it either. Maybe she was more of one than I ever would be, but I could tell, if it wasn't for her husband, she'd gladly trade in that part of her history.

"You gonna sit here all day or you gonna go speak to people?"

Karen just frowned at her husband when he came up.

"Karen, don't do this, alright? Has anyone said anything to you to make you upset?" When she opened her mouth, he added, "Today?" Silence. "Alright then. And, Auden? Don't let her fill your head with lies. We have way more fun than her family's ever had."

"Go away," she finally told her husband, who now was head back towards the grill, where all three of his sons were, all somehow having found the alcohol. After he was gone though, she slowly stood up, patting me on the shoulder. "I should go though, talk to these people. Either way I'll do the wrong thing, but at least if I do, I'll know that I'm not being rude."

When Karen walked away though, she didn't head over to the group of women sitting in those lawn chairs, instead headed towards Joseph's brothers, who were standing by the tables, eating all of the chips. I figured this was mainly because that's where Heidi and Jack were anyways. After watching her for a moment, I got up too, though I immediately headed towards my sister.

"Hi, Auden."

Hi," I said, taking the water hose out of the pool, now that it was filled up. "Vinny, go turn off the hose."

He was busy chasing his cousins around, but seeing as it was me who asked, he did it without complaint.

"Ralph likes our pool," Isby told me as her dog began to lap at the water, his tail wagging from the fact she was right next to him, watching.

"Oh, Thisbe, did no one get him water yet? I'll be right back."

"He can just drink from our pool."

I just shook my head at her before going off to get the bowl out of the kitchen.

"What are you doing in here all alone, Jake?" I asked as I went in there, headed to the cabinet to get Ralph's normal bowl.

"Stupid Dad and Steven sent me in here, because I'm drunk." He was sitting at the table, arms crossed. "They said they didn't want to deal with me and if no one else was watching me, I couldn't-"

"They treat you like a child."

"I know!"

"Come on then," I sighed as I took the bowl outside. "You can hangout with me, I g-"

"Okay." He shot up, almost falling, having to find his balance by putting his hands on the table to steady himself. "But don't try anything with me, Auden. Unlike Eli, I honor bros before hoes."

"What do you mean, unlike Eli?"

He just wagged his eyebrows at me.

"You know what, Jake? Stay in here."

"No, no." He quickly closed the distance between us. "I was just joking. That's all."

"Come on then."

The second I came outside, I saw Joseph zero in on us, probably due to the fact he could hear his son's loud voice, announcing to everyone that he and I were hanging out, in this loud obnoxious voice. Karen glanced our way too, rolling her eyes.

"-think they can tell me what to do? No they can't! I can hang out with Auden all I want," he kept up, following right behind me. "Auden and I? We go way back. Way, way- Ah!"

I looked back at Jake to see that Eli had showed up, beer in one hand, the other clamped around his brother's neck.

"The heck are you guys doing?"

"I was getting the dog water, but Jake was inside, all alone, so I told him that he could come with me." I kept walking, knowing it wouldn't be long before Eli too was wasted. "Eli, can you go turn on the water hose? I need to fill the bowl up with water."

I was being as specific as possible, to distract Eli from hurting his brother. Watching me for a moment, Eli just shook his head before going off to do as I asked while I went to go put the end of the hose in the bowl.

"Thank you, Auden," Thisbe said, coming over to me, Ralph with her. "Ralph says thank you too."

"I'm sure he does," I said, smiling at her as Jake stumbled over to the little kids' pool. "Wow! Eli, look, Dad got the pool o- Hey!"

Turning around, I saw that Jake was being sprayed with water guns by Vinny and the other little kids, save my sister, who had given Vinny her gun so that he could have two. This was probably due to the fact she was more concerned with Ralph.

"Got you, Jake!" Vinny took off running the second Jake saw them, his cousins with him. Jake tried to chase them, but his coordination was so off that he fell flat on his face.

"Jake!" I rushed over to him, getting down on my knees next to the guy. "Are you okay?"

He just groaned, pushing himself up to a sitting position. "Damn kids."

"Are you hurt?" I reached out and ran a hand down his arm.

"He ain't hurt." Eli was suddenly behind his brother, reaching down with one hand, clasping it around Jake's neck before pulling him up that way. Jake cringed, almost falling again as Eli let him go.

"Eli!" I hit his arm. "God."

"Why do you have to be such a douche?" Jake rubbed the back of his head. "God. I-"

"Gotcha again, Uncle Jake!"

Vinny's shinning moment was more thanks to Eli than anything. In his rush to get me away from his brother, Eli had forgotten to turn off the faucet, leaving the water hose for Vinny's diabolical use. Which would be holding his thumb over it in a way to cause it to spray, directed at Jake. The only problem with that?

"Vinny, you little brat!"

He got me too.

"Uh-oh," he said when it was clear that I got just as soaked as his uncle. Tossing the hose down, he tried to runaway, but Eli wasn't as drunk as his younger brother.

"Got you," Eli said, picking him up. "Come here."

He carried the boy over to me, setting him down at my feet. "Say sorry."

"N-"

"Now, Vinny."

"Sorry." He looked off, making me sigh while Jake stumbled off, needing to go change now that he was soaked.

"It's okay," I conceded. Eli patted him on the head before pushing him off.

"He got your jeans all wet," Eli said, shaking his head. "Come on."

After getting the dog water and turning off the faucet finally, Eli interlaced our fingers before leading me into the house, to his old bedroom.

"Here." He pulled out a pair of basketball shorts from a dresser drawer. "Wear these."

"Are they yours or Jake's?"

"Do you really think I would give you his shorts?"

Taking them from him, I unbuttoned my jeans while Eli went around the room, looking at Vinny and Jordan's stuff that now inhabited it.

"They keep their room pretty clean."

"Yeah. They're good kids," Eli said as I pulled the shorts on. "Mmmm, new underwear, Aud?"

"I got them a few months ago."

"So new to me. You can pull those shorts right back down."

Rolling my eyes, it was my turn to grasp his hand. "Come on. Let's go back out there."

On the way, Eli made a stop at his father's liquor cabinet to get some kind of stinky whiskey. It made me nauseous just to smell it.

"They should get a lock on that thing."

"Aw, shut up." Eli just smiled at me. "What's a party if you can't feel good?"

"That makes you feel good?"

"Being with you makes me feel good. This? This is just second place."

Again, he got an eye roll. "Well, you're with me, right now. So put the-"

"You don't get it, alright?" He took his hand from mine as we made it back outside. "You wanna beer or soda or something?"

"Yeah, a soda."

"You don't want a beer?" Eli went over to the table where some red plastic cups were sitting. Picking one up, he poured a good amount of whiskey in it before reaching down for the ice chests and pouring a little bit of Pepsi in also.

"Eli."

We both turned to see Karen standing there.

"What?" He just glanced at her before handing me the rest of the soda can.

"Put that up. Now. Do not leave it out here. And if you get…" She looked to me.

"Wasted."

"If you get wasted here, there will be Hell to pay. My goodness, Eli."

With that, she walked off, leaving me with my boyfriend again. He just shrugged, taking a sip of his drink, making a face.

"Strong."

"No duh." I shook my head. "It's basically all alcohol. You're gonna get sick."

"Nah, not me."

"Yes, you."

He just shook his head at me before heading back into the house to put the bottle of whiskey back. I was waiting for him when Vinny came up to me, carrying a plate with a hotdog on it, ketchup strew all around the plate, clearly put on there by him.

"Here, Auden," he said, holding it up.

"What?"

"I got you a hotdog. Because I'm sorry."

Smiling, I reached down and took the plate. "Thank you, Vinny. That was very kind of you."

"Really?"

"Yes." I patted his head. "Now go play."

I made sure that he went back over to the other kids before heading back to the porch to sit down and eat my hotdog. Eli almost joined me, but just as he was sitting down, someone called him over to the circle of chairs the women were sitting at. Apparently his grandmother wanted to speak with him. Whatever. There was nothing short of money that would get me over there.

It turned out that I didn't have much of a chance anyways, as just when I finished my hotdog, my own relatives decided to show up. My parents, to be exact. I happened to be glancing at the back gate at the exact moment they came through. Sighing, I sat my plate down before heading over there.

"Hi, Mom," I greeted her, allowing her to pull me into one of her never ending hugs without restraint. "How's your last day in Colby going?"

"Alright, other than your father and his attitude."

"Oh, be quiet, Victoria." My father was dressed in his usual attire, except he left the tweed jacket at home, instead just wearing a button down and shorts. "Where's your sister, Auden?"

"Her and the other kids are playing with water guns, over there," I said, pointing across the yard. "You want me to get her or-"

"No, no, she's fine." My father looked around again. "So this is all Joseph's family?"

"Yes."

"He called Heidi, you know, to invite her and she said that he wanted us to come also. Some sort of family thing or something," he went on.

"He mentioned it." I looked around. "Eli's around here somewhere, but-"

"I'm sure we can find our own way around, sweetheart," my mother told me.

"Well, okay," I said as she led my father off. I think they were in the middle of a fight or something. Whatever. Not my problem. As far I was concerned, they were already divorced and should have just left it that way.

"Auden!"

Can't they ever just leave me alone? All of them? For five minutes?

Turning, I saw that it was Karen rushing towards me.

"Yes?"

"I have to go pick up a cake."

"A cake?"

She nodded, taking my hand as she walked passed. "Come on."

"Me?"

"You'll go with me, right?"

"I, uh, guess so."

"Then come on." She pulled me along with her. "Joseph thinks it's best if I leave for a little while and go get a cake from the store. He thinks that I'm gonna fight with his mother or sisters or something. I have been nothing, but civil."

I was still trying to figure out where I fit into the equation, but decided just to go along with her. Karen had never been rude to me or mean, although there were times that her and I disagreed on things. Recently though, I feel like she has more affection for me than her son does. I think, though, that it has to do with the fact that there are so many other women around who she knows hate her. Seeing as I'm the only she's sure does not, she's sticking to me. Or at least that's all I can figure.

"Ugh. So many cars. Where did Eli park?"

"Down the road."

"We're blocked in," she said, nodding at her car, heading that way. "Come on."

"How did you get his keys?"

"I always have Joseph take them from him at parties, now that he's taken to drinking so much." She sighed as we continued on down the street. "Can you believe them? All of them? All getting together, driving here."

"Why?"

"Hmmm?"

"What's after this?"

"Joseph said something about there being some reunion or something that's gonna take place while we're away on our trip." She rolled her eyes as we made it to the truck. "I don't even want to go on vacation with him right now."

"Where's the reunion?"

"I don't know, Auden," she sighed, getting into the driver's side. "I'll drive, alright?"

"Fine by me," I said, eyeing that photo of Clayton. "I don't like driving the truck."

"Me either," she admitted. "My boys all love trucks, but they're too high up for me. Can't stand them."

We rode in silence for a minute or two before Karen spoke again.

"So Vinny sprayed you with a water hose?"

I sighed. "Yes. He got me a hotdog though, as an apology."

"He likes you."

"I know."

"You're all he ever talks about, now. I think he's just happy to have another woman around, now that he never gets to see his mommy. He missed Kelly, you know. God knows how, but he does." She shook her head. "I told Steven not to bring the him down here. That he'd be better off with Kelly."

"Why did Steven come all the way down here?" I ventured. "Instead of staying up there?"

She paused as we came to a red light. "He…he says that he didn't, but, um, Kelly claims that he was cheating on her and he thought it was best just to get out of town for awhile. It was just supposed to be for a week or two, but then he didn't leave. Joseph wants to make him leave, but he won't until I agree. And now that we have all the kids down here…I like it, you know. Having all of them here."

"Except Erica."

"Linda doesn't visit much, no." She sighed. "It's the boys that we can't get rid of."

"Jake's going nowhere soon."

"Oh, I know. Thank you, for being so helpful towards him."

I just stared out the window, having that silent debate with myself for the millionth time about whether or not Karen knew about Jake and me hooking up. I don't think so, but you never know.

"Well," I said slowly. "He is Eli's brother. And Eli likes to help him."

"They've always been close, the two of them. Steven's rather…rude to his brothers." She glanced at me. "Not Linda though. They all like their sister."

"I don't know her as well."

She nodded. "She likes you. We all do."

When we pulled into the grocery store, Karen told me that we needed two cakes; one chocolate and one vanilla.

"I hate buying store cakes," Karen told me as we went into the store. "I really do. I can't believe that Joseph did this to me. Do you know what they'll say?"

"What who will say?"

"His family, Auden. They'll talk about how I can't even find the time to bake a stupid cake. That I couldn't even make a real dinner. That I couldn't-"

"Do you really think they'll say that?"

She glanced at me. "You don't know them like I do, Auden. They  _hate_ me. Especially his mother. She loves all her other daughter-in-laws, just not me. And I never did anything."

"Kind of like Kelly."

She stopped walking for a second. "It is nothing like Kelly."

Not wanting to fill Kelly's place, I quickly said, "Right. Sure, sorry."

She just shook her head. "Kelly was rude to me and always has been. I tried with his family. Multiple times. The only reason that they hate me is because they think that I stopped Joseph from becoming something. I didn't. He gave up things for me, sure, but it was his choice. I never made any choice for him." When she felt my eyes, she added, "Back then. Back then I didn't. Now, sure, but not back then. He was a lot different, Auden."

So was she, according to Eli. Still, I kept silent as we came upon the baked goods. The woman behind the counter knew Karen, as did most people in Colby, probably. After we got the two cakes, we bought some ice cream too before heading back to her house.

"Did your parents arrive yet?" Karen asked once we were in the truck again.

"Yes."

"Oh, Auden, you could have stayed and spoken with them if-"

"I didn't really want to."

"I've never really spoken with your mother. Maybe now is a good chance. At the very least, it will give me a chance to get away from Joseph's family. Maybe yours will be more suitable for me."

I just shook my head. "Don't count on it."

"From what Eli says, I won't."

When we pulled up, I helped Karen carry the cake and ice cream back to the house, leaving them on the table. Then I set out to find my boyfriend. I eventually located him sitting in a lawn chair, drunk, clearly miserable in the heat.

"Again, Thisbe."

She sprayed his face with a water gun before spraying the rest of his body, apparently in an attempt to cool him off.

"Thank you," he said as she ran back off to play with her friends. "Hey, Auden."

"How drunk are you?"

"Just drunk, not drunk drunk." He hunched forward in his chair. "Can you bring me cake?"

I ran a hand through his hair. "No."

"Fine!" He tried to shoot up, but I had to grasp his arms to keep him from falling over. "Fine."

"Come on." I interlaced our fingers. "Let's go get your cake."

So many people were at the cake now that I tried to make Eli sit down and wait, but he flipped out.

"No,  _Auden_ , I want it now." He tried to shove me off him, but I held on. "Let, go."

"Eli, chill," I hissed, unsuccessful in my attempt to steer him towards the porch steps. "Do not make a scene. You don't want your mother to know that you're drunk. Remember?"

He just growled at me, finally breaking away…only to run into the chest of one of his uncles.

"Hey, now, Eli," the man said. Joseph had always been on the tall, broad side, but this guy, his brother, was huge. Eli, though, was too drunk to care. I have a suspicion that Eli had snuck a few more bottles while I was gone. "You need to calm down. Joseph! Come get your son."

I'm sure Mr. Stock was expecting Jake to be the problem, but found Eli and I standing there as Eli tried to run again, this time in the opposite direction. I didn't want him to fall like Jake had previously, so I reached out and grasped his arm.

"Let go!" This time he literally put his hands on me to push me away, pissing me off. And almost causing me to fall, I might add. So I let him go, not caring anymore.

"Hey!" Joseph caught him by the arm, but Eli kept fighting him. Everyone was watching us now, Karen making her way over.

"Whatever the heck is going on, stop it. Now," she said. When she saw that it was Eli, she just shook her head. "He goes home."

"No!" This angered Eli for some reason. I took a glance back at the chair he had been sitting out, finding that the bottle of liquor he had put up before was now empty next to it. Great. "No. Auden, tell 'em. Tell 'em."

I didn't know what exactly I was supposed to be telling, but I wasn't going to say anything anyways, not with the way that he was acting.

"Come on, Eli." Joseph tightened his grip, moving to grab both of his arms. "We're gonna go inside, huh?"

"No. Auden-"

I just watched as my boyfriend was dragged away by his father, putting up my best mask of all, the mask of apathy. Karen looked beyond pissed as she followed into the house, leaving me with Eli's uncle.

"Auden, I can assume." He reached out, taking my hand. "Nice to meet you, though, you know, this probably isn't under the best of circumstances."

I just shook my head. "Eli's not going to ruin my day."

"That's a very good plan." He smiled at me as he let go of my hand. "I'm Koda, Joseph's brother."

I nodded as I took a step back. "So you guys are all on your way to a reunion or something?"

"Yep. Picking up people as we go. We're a very close family," he assured me. Then, staring at me, he said, "Hey, I remember you. You went to Denise's wedding, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Ah." He smiled. "Do you remember me?"

Faintly. That day, Eli introduced me to multiple people. "Yes, I do."

"Well, at the very least, it's good to see you again, Auden. I hope to see you again."

After patting me once on the shoulder, he headed back over to the grill, taking over for Steven, who had stepped up when he saw his brother having a meltdown.

"Quite a funny predicament, eh, Auden?"

I frowned as Jake walked up. "Go away."

"They all think I'm the drunk." He leaned heavily into me, looking over the party. "Your boyfriend's way worse off than me."

"Yeah," I said as I moved away from him, headed over to my parents. "I know."

"What's wrong with Eli?" My mother asked as she stared down at her piece of cake, poking it a few times. When she noticed Thisbe at her feet, she readily handed her the plate.

"Everything," I sighed, watching Vinny ran at Thisbe, wanting her cake seeing as he had already devoured his own. "Everything."

* * *

"Are they in bed?"

I just nodded at Karen as I came into the living room after putting Vinny and Jordan down. Isby had wanted to spend the night, but Heidi said no, knowing that the Stock's had enough to deal with. It was weird that as I sat down on the couch next to my boyfriend, who was nursing a massive headache, and his younger brother, who seemed bored, I felt like they were my problems too. Like I belonged more with this family than I did my own.

Karen sighed from her chair, glancing over at us all, but not saying anything. I wanted to lean against Eli, but was also still irritated with him, so I didn't. Jake kept scooting closer to me though, as he was still a little buzzed, meaning I had to keep moving away from him. I was about to get up and leave the room when Steven came in from the backyard, shaking his head at his brothers before sitting on the arm of the couch, on Jake's side.

"Well, Karen, I think that went-"

"Don't."

Joseph continued into the room, still smiling. "Karen-"

"I said don't. I really don't want to hear from any of you guys. Steven's the only one that didn't do something stupid."

"Gee, Mom," Jake frowned at her. "I didn't drink anymore than anyone else in here."

"I didn't drink at all," she told him.

"That's because-"

"Just shut up," Steven ordered, elbowing him.

"Mom, he hit-"

Karen turned her stare on him, silencing her youngest, before looking back at her husband. "Just get away from me, Joseph."

"Karen, I don't know what exactly you want me to do."

"What I want you to do? I want you to leave me alone. I'm being pretty clear."

"What exactly did I do wrong to begin with?"

"You know what."

"No, I obviously-"

"You know that I hate those people-"

"Those people? Karen, that's my family, alright? We've done this before and-"

"No, Joseph." She stood up, facing him. Not for the first time, I noted their height difference, which wasn't drastic, but obvious. She was such a tiny woman in comparison to her husband. "This? This is your family. They're just people who ostracized me for-"

"What is up with you and forgiveness, huh? Things happen, Karen. People hurt other people. I get it. I do. I spent years dealing with all this stuff that you caused-"

"I didn't cause anything, okay? I'm not that one that-"

"Stop it, alright? You couldn't even speak to my mother, could you?"

"I spoke to her. Why? She tell you different? Gee, sure sounds an awful like the  _past_ , Joseph."

He let out a long breath before looking into her eyes. "Karen, they came to see me because I can't go to the reunion. I didn't tell you only because I wasn't sure on the day. I forgot to mention it, okay? There's been a lot going on, okay? I didn't plan this, okay? Do you think I would plan for you to be upset with me? Because I wouldn't. I'm sorry that it makes you upset to see my family, but I never get to see my parents, my brother, or my sisters. It's not fair. Do you know how much time I spend with your family? Do you? Do you?"

"That's not the point. You-"

"What more do you want from me? I'm taking you on that stupid vacation instead of going to see the rest of my family, aren't I? Huh? Aren't I?"

"Then go to the damn reunion! Go! I don't want to go to stupid California. I really don't. I don't want to spend time with you, I don't want to leave the kids here all alone, and I really don't want to hear you bitch about your family anymore. So go."

"Ka-"

"Just freaking go!"

"Fine! Fine! So what am I going to do with my damn plane tickets? With that stupid hotel reservation? Huh?"

"Give it to the kids!"

"Great, let's just give it to one of the kids."

Jake sat up. "I'll take it."

Karen sent him a look. "Oh, like we'd send you anywhere. Idiot."

"Don't yell at them when you're mad at me," Joseph told her.

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Isn't that what I'm in trouble for? For not telling you to get ready for my family?"

"Eli," I whispered in his ear. "Let's go."

He moved further away from me, watching his parents.

"You know what?" Karen's voice cracked this time and Joseph's face lost some of that hard look it had at the moment, but not going back to his usual jolly expression. "I don't care anymore, Joey. I really don't. Go, be with your family. I can't…Auden, Eli, Jake, let's go."

"Go?" Jake blinked. "Go where?"

"Auden's taking Eli home. We're going. Come on."

"Mom," Steven started, but she just shook her head as she walked out of the house. Eli groaned as his older brother stood, moving to help him stand. "This is why you don't drink straight whiskey, Eli."

Jake followed along behind them, out of the house, silent for once. Then it was just me, sitting on the couch, staring at Mr. Stock. He cleared his throat once before looking at me.

"One big, happy family, Auden." He came slowly over to me, sitting down where Jake had been before. "At least your parents had a good time, yeah?"

"Yes," I said after clearly my own throat. "They did."

"Good." He smiled a forced, sad grin at me. "That's all that mattered. My wife, Karen? She'll always have a bad time. She'll always find something to complain about."

I looked off, trying to figure out what to say to him. Then, after building up some courage, I hedged my way in. "You know…she said that she feels like they don't like her."

"Yeah." Joseph snorted. "I know."

"It has to be hard, always being hated by someone who's supposed to be a part of your family."

"And what would you know about that, Auden?"

"Not a lot," I admitted. "But I also know that she thinks that she's tried in the past to fix-"

"Yeah. I know." He glanced at me. "You two were together a lot today. Did she…say anything about this to you?"

"No," I said slowly. "But I know that she thinks that they hate her because you gave up-"

He laughed at that, a dry laugh. "If that isn't the biggest lie of all."

"No, she really-"

"Not her. My parents." He glanced at me. "You wanna know the real reason I dropped out? The real reason I told Karen that I would help put her through school?" When I didn't speak, he went on. "I couldn't keep up. I didn't want to study; I just wanted to drink and be with Karen. I guess that's where my boys get it."

"Maybe," I mumbled as his oldest son came back into the house. "Maybe."

"You better get out there, Auden," Steven told me as I stood up. "They're all ready to go and Eli looks like he's about to blow chunks."

Making a face, I told him and his father goodnight before heading out to the truck. When I got there, I found that Eli was in the back with Jake, moaning about how bad he felt. Karen was staring straight ahead, in the passenger's seat. When I got into the driver's side, she handed me the keys.

It was a silent ride back to the apartment. Even Jake didn't make a noise. When we got there, I found that was because he had fallen asleep. After rousing him, I had to move on to my boyfriend, helping him into the apartment. The second we were in, I dumped him on the couch to sleep off his night.

"Eli'll take the couch," I announced to Karen and Jake. "You can have the sleeping bag, Jake."

"What? No. I want the b-"

"Where would you mom sleep, genius?"

He glared at me, but didn't speak.

"Oh, Auden, you can have the bedroom," Karen told me. "I really shouldn't stay long. I'm just waiting until Joseph goes to bed to head back."

"It's fine," I told her, going to get the mini-trashcan from the bathroom. "I'm gonna be out here with Eli all night, probably. No way can his body keep all that down for much longer."

"You shouldn't have to-"

"But I do." I sat down on the floor, underneath the couch. Eli's hand came down, resting on my head as he moaned some more. "He'd do the same for me."

Karen stared at me for a second. It looked like she was about to speak when her son suddenly sat bolt up. I held up the trashcan, getting on my knees, not wanting him to miss.

Once he was done, Eli just collapsed back on the couch, moaning some more as I shook my head, looking back at Karen.

"You should roll him on his side," she said as she came towards me, "so that he doesn't choke in his sleep. Give me his keys, please."

Confused, I did so, watching as she head for the door. "Where-"

"I should go home," she told me. "Before he goes to bed."

I just smiled a little bit, calling out a goodbye. Then it was just me and Eli.

"So…can I have the bed now?"

Correction. Me, Eli, and Jake.

"Yeah, sure," I said, glancing up at Eli. "I'll probably be out here the whole night."

And yeah, I hated it, having to deal with his self caused vomit, but...at least I felt something. Right?


	9. Chapter 9

 

"What are you doing, babe?"

"Don't call me babe," I mumbled, not looking at him.

I was currently standing in Eli's bathroom, staring in the mirror at my stomach, my shirt flipped up so that I could see the skin. When I had left the living room, it was because Eli hadn't puked in about an hour, so I assumed he'd sleep for awhile. Apparently not, as he came into the reflected image in the mirror also, staring at me.

"Well, what are you doing though?"

I kept staring at my tummy. "I'm just looking, that's all."

"At what?"

"My stomach."

"Why?" He glanced at its reflection. "You feel okay?"

"I feel fine." I looked up at him as he came to stand directly behind me, his chest firm against my back. "I just…I don't know."

He moved to grab my hand, forcing me to let the shirt fall. "Well, forget about your stomach, huh? I am suffering from a major headache right now and want you to come get in bed with me."

Sighing, I freed my hand from his before saying, "Fine, but brush your teeth. Please."

"Anything for you."

Leaving Eli in the bathroom to take care of his disgusting breath, I went into his bedroom, shocked to find Jake was still there, snoring. I was headed back out of the room as Eli came in, almost running into me.

"What's wrong?"

"Number one, you should brush your teeth longer. Number two, your brother is in our bed."

"Hmmm." Eli just shrugged before heading into there. Then, with a shrug, he laid down on the bed, yawning.

"Are we gonna sleep in here? With…him?"

"Hell no." With that, Eli reached over and shoved his brother out of bed. I just stood there for a moment, staring, as Jake let out a loud yell.

"Eli!" I frowned at him, but he just cuddled into bed, not saying anything as his brother stood up. "God."

"What the heck, bro? What was that even for? Huh? She said that I could sleep in here!"

"Hn. Don't care." Eli cuddled into my pillow. "Auden. Bed. Now."

"Excuse me?"

Jake shook his head, walking out of the room.

"Eli, you do not order me around."

"Just get in bed," he mumbled against my pillow.

"You're in my spot."

That just got a grunt. Groaning, I finally relented as I laid down on the bed next to him, knowing that I too was tired after staying up all night, dealing with his puke.

"Your mom said that you should sleep on your side. So you don't choke on your own vomit."

"Not drunk anymore, Aud. Just very tired." He wouldn't look at me as he curled into his pillow. "Night."

"Morning."

"Whatever."

* * *

His skin was sweaty under my lips as I pressed against the flesh of his neck. Eli just groaned, not moving as I kissed under his hairline. Before, when he kept his hair long, I liked being able to run my fingers through it. Now, with it shaved, I kind of enjoyed being able to kiss the back of his neck.

"Aud," he whispered as I leaned against his back, now resting my head against his neck. "Love you."

"Get up. It's late."

"Go away."

"Come on, Eli." I nuzzled into him. "I thought you loved me?"

"I do," he grumbled softly. "I also feel like shit."

"Aw, poor Eli." Leaning closer to his ear, I bit at it gently. "Your mom sent you a text. She wants us to come get Vinny for the day."

"Text back. Not today."

"Yes, today. Besides, after the crap you pulled yesterday, you owe them."

"I owe them for a lot of things. Doesn't mean I plan on giving back."

"Well, I'll go pick him up then, huh?" I moved to get up before groaning. "Your mother has the truck."

"Then stay. Rub my back."

"No." I kissed his neck once more before getting up. "I'll just walk."

"Aud-"

"Bye, Eli."

I was hardly out the front door when he came running after me, still pulling on his shoes.

"Wait, Auden!"

I just smiled, stopping outside his place. "Hurry up."

On the walk over to his parents, Eli interlaced our fingers, walking right next to me with a closeness that I was still getting used to.

"Was I really bad last night?"

"You don't remember?" I asked, only continuing when he shook his head. "You vomited the whole night. Not to mention, you shoved me."

"Oh. That." He rubbed the back of his head. "I remember that, faintly. I'm sorry. Very sorry."

"It's not that big of a deal. It's not like you tried to hit me."

"No, I'd never do that." He brought our joint hands up to his mouth, kissing them gently. "God, my parents better have some extra strength aspirin or something."

"I figured you'd have grown out of hangovers by now, how much you drink."

"I'm a very complex person, you know. Not normal at all."

"I know." I just shook my head as we past a group of twenty something tourists in skimpy bikinis, Eli also taking notice. Still, he hid it well so I didn't call him out on it.

"After we get Vinny, we're gonna go get lunch. I'm hungry."

"I'm sure you are," I said, squeezing his fingers. "You vomited everything up that was in your stomach."

"Can you stop saying vomit and just say puke like the rest of us?"

"It's the same thing."

"It makes you sound uppity."

"Whatever, drunk."

I got flicked behind the ear for that one.

"Watch it," Eli warned playfully. I just smiled at him before looking off, not able to meet his eyes for some reason.

"Hi, Auden," Vinny greeted sometime later when we finally made it to Eli's parent's house. The little boy was outside playing, being supervised by Jake. The second he saw us though, Jake came rushing down the porch steps and then passed us, apparently having been waiting for us to show up so he could get off babysitting duty. I just shook my head, telling Vinny that we were going inside and that he should follow.

For once, when I walked into the Stock house, no one greeted me. Not even Joseph, who was seated in his chair, staring straight at us. Well, not us, but rather his son.

"Sit," Joseph said, pointing to the couch. Eli just shook his head.

"Dad-"

"Now."

Releasing my hand, Eli walked over to the couch while I let Vinny fill his place, the little boy leading me further into the house, back towards the bedrooms.

"Where are we going, Vinny?" I asked as he led me to Eli's old room.

"I gotta show you somethin'," he said, opening the door. Jordan was in there, playing with his DS on the bed. He just greeted me before going back to his game.

"What?" I asked as Vinny stopped in front of Eli's old desk.

"I made you this," he said, thrusting a folded piece of construction paper at me. A card. "Since I sprayed you when I didn't mean to. Granny said I should."

"Aw," I said, taking the card without even looking at it. Then, leaning down, I gently kissed Vinny's cheek, causing him to turn bright red. "Thank you, Vinny. That's very sweet."

He just made some kind of noise, embarrassed that his brother had witnessed this. Shifting, he kicked at the floor while looking anywhere other than me.

"Auden," I heard Eli yell, his talk with his father apparently not ending well. "Come on! We're leaving. Now."

I sighed, looking over at Jordan. "We're taking Vinny home with us. Do you wanna go?"

"As long as you don't give me cooties too."

Rolling my eyes, I headed out of the room. "Come on, boys."

Once we got to the living room, I saw that Eli was already gone, though I had figured that when I heard a door slam a minute ago.

"You did not have to upset him," Karen, who was now in the room, was saying when I came in there. "You were supposed to just-"

"Don't start with me. If he wasn't so-" Joseph stopped when Vinny ran passed him, headed over to his grandmother.

"Look, Granny," he said, stopping at her feet. "Auden got my card. She likes it."

Karen, who was standing in front of her husband looking unbelievably angry just minutes before, stared down at her grandson for a moment before letting out a long breath. Then she smiled a little. "Did she?"

"Uh-huh." He looked back at me before taking a step closer to Karen, motioning for her to bend down. She cast me a look, but I just shook my head. Once she was on his level, Vinny whispered something to her. When she looked at him, he just nodded before rushing over to the door, where his shoes were.

"Bye, Granny. Bye, Grandpa!" With that, Vinny was gone out the door, where Eli was no doubt waiting.

"What did he tell you?" I asked as Karen went to go get the truck keys from the kitchen. I followed along behind her, not wanting to be stuck with Joseph who still looked pissed.

"Hmmm?" She lifted up an apple from the basket of fruit on the table before depositing the keys into my hand. "Oh, nothing. Just that you kissed him or something."

I could tell that she wasn't that focused on that, probably more concerned with Eli at the moment. "I had better go. We have Jordan too."

She sighed. "Thank you, Auden."

When I got outside, I found Eli steaming as he paced back and forth on the driveway. I could see Vinny and his brother already in the truck, so I went ahead and stopped next to Eli, figuring he would want to drive.

"He has no right to yell at me. I'm not a kid." Eli glared up at the house before taking the keys from me. "Who does he think he is? Huh?"

"Eli, I'm sure he-"

Eli shrugged me off when I tried to touch him. "He can go fuck himself for all I-"

"Calm down, baby." I reached up and patted his face now. This time though, Eli literally shoved me off him, like he had the night before. "Hey!"

"Don't touch me, alright?"

With that, he climbed into the truck, slamming the door. I shook my head before going to get into the passenger side.

"You shove me like that again, Eli, and your father won't be your only issues."

He didn't say anything to this, instead just starting the truck, quickly turning the music up. I wanted to get angry with him, but I was more done than anything. I was done with his attitude and done with him shoving me. I was really done with knowing what a douche my boyfriend was.

"Come on, boys," I said, getting out of the truck when we pulled up to the apartment building. Eli had stomped off to the apartment, leaving me to get the boys out.

"What's wrong with Eli?" Vinny asked me. "Is he still sick?"

"A little," I said, shaking my head. "Come on, guys. Let's just stay in the living room today, huh? And leave Eli alone? At least until he feels better."

"Can I play his Playstation?"

"Sure," I readily agreed, hoping secretly that Jordan would break it. Eli was acting like a jerk, after all. He would deserve it. When we got in the apartment, Eli was nowhere to be found, which I was fine with. I hoped that he would stay in the bedroom for the rest of the day or at least until he calmed down.

"Where's Thisbe?" Vinny asked as he climbed onto the couch.

"Probably with my parents," I said as Jordan went to work setting up the video game system. "What do you want to do today, Vinny?"

"I dunno. I wanted to play with Grandpa, 'cause he's gonna go golfin' with his friends. I wanted to go, but Granny said no. So I thought that I could play with her, but she's gonna go drink with her friends."

"Drink what?"

"Pee."

"Huh?"

"Tea. She's gonna go have tea with her friends," Jordan said as he sat down on the ground with his controller in his hands. "She let Vinny go once, but he acted bad."

"I did not!"

"He poured his tea all over to the table."

"I thought it was pee!" Vinny looked up at me. "Who drinks pee? Nasty people. So if they're nasty, how come I can't be nasty?"

I just patted him on the head. "Where's your sister today anyways?"

"Her and Daddy are having 'bonding' time," Vinny told me.

"What does that mean?"

"He's taking her shopping because Mom's not here to do it anymore," Jordan explained. "When we bond, he takes me to go buy a video game."

"What do you do with him, Vinny?" I asked, intrigued. Who actually sets aside time to spend with each kid? It sounded like a good idea, but I doubted that it would work for everyone.

"He takes me and Thisbe to the park." Vinny pulled off his shoes and socks, smelling them before tossing them on the ground with a giggle. "I asked him and he said next time we could bring Ralph."

"Oh." To me, it sounded like Vinny was getting ripped off, but I didn't voice this. "That sounds like fun."

"You can go, Auden. You and Daddy can be friends. Then we can come stay with you on your farm, huh? Eli can't come though because he's a butthead."

I frowned. "Vinny, I'm not actually gonna live on a farm. I'm not planting corn."

"You sure?"

"Very."

"Hmmm. So we can't live with you?"

"No, you can't."

"Maybe you could live with us," he tried again. "When Daddy gets a house. Eli still can't come though. He's still a butthead."

"Don't say butthead."

"Why?"

"It's bad."

"Eli's bad. I saw him. He pushed." Then, Vinny jumped off the couch. "Is that where he is? In timeout? For pushing you? I'll go get him. Timeout is over now."

"No, Vinny, leave Elli alone."

"How come?"

"It's naptime."

Vinny snickered. "Eli still needs naptime?"

"Yes, he does."

"He's a baby."

"You need one too," Jordan said, but when Vinny moved to attack him, Jordan just dodged him. Vinny had tried to kick him in the back of the head, but fell when his brother moved.

"Ow! You're mean!" Vinny began to whine until I stood up and went to pick him up.

"Stop crying. You were trying to kick him," I said as I carried Vinny into the kitchen with me. I decided that the best distraction for Vinny from his aggression was cleaning. Not to mention it would help get rid of some of his energy.

"Here you go, Vinny," I said, setting him down on the ground. "If I give you a washcloth, can you wipe down the floor? Please?"

"No!"

"For me?"

"Mmmm…I guess so," he said, kicking his feet. "If you want me to."

"I do," I told him, going to get him a washcloth. I got it slightly wet before handing it to him. "You're such a big help, Vinny. More help than Eli even."

"Really?" The little boy got down on the ground, pushing the wet washcloth around the tile floor.

"Mmmmhmm." I was working on wiping down the counters while monitoring him out of the corner of my eyes. "Did you have fun seeing all your relatives yesterday, Vinny?"

"Yep! 'cept Mommy wasn't there."

"No, she wasn't."

"I love Mommy. I wish she could come stay again." Vinny looked up at me, stopping his cleaning. "Are you sad that your mommy is gonna go back home?"

"Me and my mother don't see each other much anyways."

"I like staying with Granny and Grandpa, but I miss the old house." He went back to cleaning. "I don't know why I can't go back."

I really didn't want to be involved with this, but wasn't sure how to get out of it. "Oh."

"I told Daddy, but he just told me that this is what had to happen for now." Vinny moaned. "Then Taylor and Jordan came. I wish they'd go back."

"Don't say that, Vinny. You have to like your brother and sister."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"Do you got another sister?"

"Other than Thisbe? No. But you know my brother Hollis."

"Do you miss him?"

I sighed. "Vinny, I'm an adult. It's different."

"Taylor is mean."

Well, I couldn't dispute that.

"It's just hard for her, I'm sure. She was an only child for so long, you know." I glanced at him. "I was the youngest in my family for a long time, before Thisbe was born."

"You're not mean to her."

"No. I love her."

"Then how come my sissy is mean to me?"

"I'm sure it would hurt her feelings to hear you say that."

"No. She has no feelings."

"Yes, she does, Vinny." I had finished wiping down the counters and was now doing a few dishes. "Everyone does."

"Not the devil."

I blinked. "Well, he feels resentment towards God, I'm sure."

"Hmmm," Vinny mulled this over. "Then I guess everyone does have feelings."

"See?"

Vinny wiggled his butt as he pushed the washcloth around the kitchen. "How come you don't go to church with us, Auden?"

"I don't go to church."

"Oh. Is it because you're afraid of vampires?"

"What?"

"Sometimes Grandpa and Granny drink blood with the other adults and eat dead bodies."

'What?"

"He's talking about the Lord's Supper."

I glanced up as Eli came into the room. Ignoring him, I turned back around, going back to the dishes.

"Eli, you butthead," Vinny yelled, jumping up the second he saw his uncle. "You're in trouble! You pushed Auden. That's bad. You were bad."

"I was, huh?" Eli patted Vinny on the head before coming over to me. "I'm sorry, Auden."

I wanted to ignore him, but knew that Vinny was watching us. So, to show him that forgiveness is important, I told Eli thank you. When he tried to kiss my cheek though, I did swerve it.

"What?"

"I don't want to do that right now, Eli."

"Kiss me?" He reached out, grabbing my head now, forcing me to allow him to kiss my head. "Chill out, Auden. I didn't hit you or something like that. I just pushed you off me. And I am sorry. I am."

"It's not just about that, Eli."

"Then what else is it about?"

"You acting like an idiot over there."

He just stared at me for a second before huffing, turning on his heel as he walked away. "Jordan," he called out as he headed into the living room. "Hook up the other controller and save your game. We're gonna play two player."

Vinny glanced at me before back at the living room. Sighing, I went over to him and patted him on the head.

"Go play," was all I had to say before he darted off into the living room, joining his brother and uncle. I just shook my head, going back to cleaning.

* * *

"Goodbye, Mr. Robbie," Vinny said, kicking his feet in the dirt. "Goodbye, Ms. Vicky."

"Goodbye, Vinny," my father said, reaching out to pat him on the head. "Maybe next time Thisbe comes to visit, you can come too."

"Okay!" He smiled before looking at Thisbe, who was crying. "Would you stop being a baby yet?"

"Vinny," I corrected, shoving his head slightly. "Don't be mean."

We were standing outside Heidi's house, telling my parents goodbye. She and Jack had invited everyone over to do it there because Thisbe was having such a hard time with Dad leaving again. Heidi figured that if Vinny, Eli, and I were around, maybe she would calm down, but it didn't seem to be helping anything.

"I don't want you to go," she whined as my father looked around uncomfortably.

"Oh, Thisbe, you'll see him again soon," my mother assured her. I was slowly learning that my mother was very kind to Isby, though I had yet to figure out why. "You hear you mom. As soon as Auden leaves for Tyler, you're gonna come stay with us in Lakeview. That'll be fun."

"No it won't!"

Eli sighed, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Thisbe, maybe tomorrow, if you calm down, we could go to the beach."

"No! I want Daddy to stay!" She had wrapped her arms around his leg. "Don't go."

"You're such a baby, Thisbe," Vinny said. This time, Eli pushed his head as a final warning. "Stop touching me, Eli! I'm not the one crying like a big baby!"

"Vinny." I finally grabbed his hand and made him look at me. "Knock it off. Now."

"My mommy isn't here and I'm not acting like a baby!"

"Then stop screaming."

He jerked out of my hold before crossing his arms. My mother was watching me, probably intrigued by my involvement with him. Jack, who was lighting a cigarette, looked up at Thisbe and shook his head.

"When I was a kid, you got hit when you cried," he said. Heidi, however, hit him for saying that before reaching down to pick up Thisbe.

"You really should go now, Robert," she told him, bouncing their daughter. "You're already late and she's not going to be calming down any time soon."

"Right." My father turned then, shocking me when he hugged me. I was still focusing most of my attention on Vinny who was whining loudly.

"Goodbye, Auden. Come see us whenever you want. And call when you get to Tyler."

"I will."

After a long hug from my mother also, my parents were gone. Heidi was still trying to calm Thisbe, but when it was clear it wasn't going to happen any time soon Eli came over and took her. Thisbe quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head in his shoulder. Then he called over his shoulder to Heidi that he would be back with her soon, that they were going to go for a walk.

"Thisbe's still a baby," Vinny mumbled under his breath, kicking up some more dirty. I sighed, looking down at him.

"You know, Vinny, if you keep acting like this, I'm sure that lizard you caught can still be taken away."

"Not Benjamin."

Heidi, who had been upset about her daughter being upset, finally looked down at Vinny also. "You named your lizard Benjamin?"

"Yes."

"…I have to go lay down," she said, turning to Jack. "When Eli and Thisbe get back, please bring her inside, okay?"

"Sure." He blew his smoke away from her before leaning down to kiss her. "Feel better."

With Heidi gone, Jack went over to the porch and sat down on the steps to smoke his cigarette. As I didn't know much about him and from what I didn't know wasn't that fond of him, I turned my attention back to Vinny, who was staring up at me.

"What?" I asked as he kept staring. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'. I's just starin' at you." Vinny shook his hair, with was flat today, giggling. "I'm glad Daddy came to pick up Jordan. Now I get Ralph all for myself."

With that, he ran off for the backyard, where the dog was no doubt waiting.

"To myself, Vinny. Not for."

"You can have him too, if you want," he said, not realizing I was correcting him. "I like sharing with you, Auden."

When I got to the backyard, I found Vinny by the doghouse, petting the sleeping Ralph. Smiling softly, I went over to him.

"Ralph is a good dog, huh?"

Vinny nodded at me. "Yeah."

Getting down on my knees next to him, I reached out to rub the dog's belly also. "Thisbe told me that you got him for her for her birthday."

"Yep."

"That was nice of you."

"Mmmhmm." He looked at me. "When's your birthday, Auden?"

"It's in September."

"I'mma get you somethin' for your birthday."

I poked him in the stomach, making him giggle. "When's your birthday then?"

"January 16th," he said with obvious pride about it. "I'll be five."

"That's a big milestone."

"I don't wanna run a mile."

"No, silly. That means it's important."

"Oh. Well, it will be." He smiled. "Maybe I can even have it at home with my friends. You and Thisbe can come too. And Uncle Jake. Eli too, if he stops being a butt…a mean person."

I smiled softly at him. "You really miss your house, huh?"

"And my mommy." Then he looked up at me. "But I'm not a baby like Thisbe. I don't cry about it."

Of course not. He just gets angry about it.

"That's good," I said slowly. "But some people are different. More emotional."

"Thisbe's very emotionable."

I decided not to correct him that time. "Sure. But you are too in some ways."

"Am not! I'm not a girl." He sat back on his butt now, no longer messing with Ralph.

"No, you're not. But you still get angry."

"A lot."

"Yeah. Anger's an emotion."

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Oh. Then yeah, I guess I do."

"See? And calling someone names when they're upset doesn't help anything. When Thisbe cries, you should want to help her. You two are friends, right?"

"The best."

"Then you should want her to feel good. She wants you to feel good."

"Like you and Eli?"

I smiled. "That's different. Eli's my boyfriend. Are you Thisbe's boyfriend?"

"Ew! No. That's nasty."

"Okay then."

"Hmmm." Vinny was picking at the grass now, not looking at me. "Auden?"

"What?"

"Do you like my mommy?"

"Sure," I lied. What? It wasn't like I could tell the boy the truth, which would be I hated her. Deeply.

"Then could you get her to come back? She said that she had to go home because Daddy and Granny didn't like her. If she knows that you like her, maybe she'll come see me." He was smiling now, looking up. "Can you call her? Soon? Don't tell her I miss her or nothin', 'cause I don't want her to feel bad or nothin'. Tell her that you miss her."

"Vinny…" I didn't know what to say to him.

"I love my mommy."

"I know, baby."

He giggled suddenly, standing up. "You liar, Ms. Heidi! You're supposed to be asleep. You know what happens to lairs? They have to go to timeout. Huh, Auden?"

Turning, I was shocked to find that at some point Heidi had come out onto the deck in the backyard instead of heading out to bed. Oh, God. Standing also, I headed over there.

"Vinny, I want to talk to Auden for a second," she told him as he ran up the deck. "Jack is still in the front yard. Go play with him, okay?"

"Are you gonna punish her, Auden?" He looked to me for the answer.

"Go," Heidi repeated.

We both stayed silent for a moment, listening as Vinny yelled out a greeting to Jack, who replied. Once we were sure that Jack was really still out there, Heidi nodded to the chair next to the one she was seated in.

"Sit, Auden."

"Heidi-"

"I just want to talk. We haven't had a chance to do that since you got here. And you're leaving soon. I want to talk, that's all."

Yeah, but I knew what she wanted to talk about and I didn't really want to.

"About?" I sat down like she wanted, mostly because I had nowhere else to go.

"How are you and Eli doing?"

"Is this about his drinking? Because I'm really tired of-"

"It's about Eli and you in general, Auden." Heidi swept her hair over her shoulder. "You know that I'm not like everyone else. I'm prying, sure, but I'm not going to judge you on anything. I just want to talk."

"Fine. Let's talk about you and Jack."

"Fine." She sat up slightly. "While Thisbe's away at your father's, he wants me to go meet his parents in Washington."

"The state?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever been to the west coast?"

"No, but it can't be much different than here. Besides, he said after we see them, we'll go stay in California."

"I know where you can get some real cheap hotel reservations," I mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Karen and Joseph are just going there next week, that's all."

"Oh. That's nice."

"Yeah."

She smiled at me. "I've never met Jack's family before. I'm kind of nervous."

"I've met Eli's plenty of times. It's not that bad."

"Still, it's very nerve racking."

I just shrugged. "Eli's has always been nice to me."

"Nicer than your parents have been to him." Then, she made a pinched face. "Sorry. I just-"

"No, you're right. They just think I could do better."

"You probably could," she agreed. "But Eli does care about you and I know that you care about him. That's all that should matter."

"I don't like everything about him."

She cocked her head to her side. "What don't you like?"

"His…drinking," I admitted. "I'm tired of talking about it, but-"

"I know. He's just trying to fill a hole."

"A hole?"

"He's hurt, Auden. You know that. The more time you spend with him now, the better he'll get. He was trying to fill his time without you while not having to think about…what happened."

I swallowed, sitting up straighter. "You can say it, you know."

"Say what?"

"Her name. Clayton."

"Auden-"

"No one will mention it. Ever. Not even the kids. It's like everyone's trying to erase it."

"Auden, we told them not to ask you about it. Vinny, Jordan, Thisbe. We just thought it would be better that way."

"Well, it's not. Clayton happened. If it wasn't for Eli's tattoo, I don't think anyone would even remember." Usually, when I even thought about Clayton, what happened and what didn't, I would start to get upset. This time though, I just sounded emotionless.

"If you want to talk about it-"

"There's nothing to talk about. Clayton didn't even get a chance before I screwed things up." I swallowed a lump in my throat. "And I just hate how everyone's afraid to talk about it or they just talk around it. The only one who had the guts to say anything about her was Kelly and that's just because she's a bitch."

"Well- Wait, Kelly?"

"Steven's wife."

"What did she ever say?"

I frowned. "You never heard?"

"No."

"Oh."

"Tell me. What did she say?" Heidi leaned forward now. "Auden?"

"Just…the day of Steven's birthday party, Jordan and Taylor were over at Eli's with me and Kelly. Taylor called Jordan dumb or stupid or something and I told her not to. Then Kelly yelled at me that I shouldn't correct her kids when-" I stopped abruptly.

"When…?"

"When I can't even keep my own."

Heidi was silent for a moment. "She what?"

"Heidi-"

"That whore. Why didn't anyone tell me?"

I just stared at her.

"Oh, Auden, I would not have caused that big of a scene. I might have cursed some, but-"

"It's over now, Heidi."

"If she ever says anything like that again, it's so on." Heidi shook her head, clearly still angered by what I had told her. "God, if she had said that in front of me, it would have been all over."

For some reason, it made me feel good to know that even though Heidi wasn't my stepmother anymore and hadn't been in years, she still cared about me. A lot.

"That reminds me," she said, looking up suddenly. "Auden, what are you gonna do about Vinny?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard what you told him."

"I just want him to feel better. He just misses his mother."

"She's a bitch."

"Heidi."

"I know, I know." She sighed. "But Auden, you shouldn't get involved. You know that."

"I didn't try to. He's just so sad and angry about what's going on. I wanted to make him feel better."

"Then you let Eli deal with it." She stared right at me. "He's not your responsibility."

"I know."

"I just don't want you getting too involved in the Stock family when you and Eli are still just dating."

It wasn't shocking to me to see the stark difference between Heidi and the Stocks. Joseph had made it clear to me that after losing Clayton, that meant that I was part of their family. Heidi though was looking out for my best interest and didn't want me to get hurt if things went south, like many things did in young relationships. I appreciated both of their sides, but also knew that in some ways, I wasn't apart of the Stock family, yet in other ways, I was. Vinny might not be my 'responsibility', but I did care for him. And I knew that Eli's family cared for Thisbe.

What was so wrong with that?

* * *

"So what did you and Thisbe talk about on your walk?"

"Nothing really. I just told her that sometimes, people went away when you didn't want them too. That wasn't a bad thing. You'd see them again."

"That's not always true."

"Auden, she's four. I think I can get away with telling her that for awhile."

It was the middle of the night and Eli and I were at the shop. He was working while I was busy texting Maggie, who was on a horrible date. Eli didn't have much to do tonight and decided to work on some stuff at Abe's Bikes. Which was fine by me, as I wasn't that tired anyways.

"Still."

Eli sighed softly, not looking up from the bike he was messing with. "June's almost over."

"Yeah."

"…I wish you didn't have to go."

"Me too."

"I just like you being here. So much."

"I do too."

He glanced over at me. "Aud, I know that school is important to you and I'm glad that it is, but sometimes I just wish that…that it was over."

"Over?"

"Yeah. That you, you know, were already graduated so that we could just be together without having to worry about you leaving."

"That would be nice, huh?"

"Yeah." He stood then, coming over to the stool I was sitting on. "Give me a kiss."

"Why?"

"Because you wouldn't before."

I put one hand on his chest, having to lean up to do as he asked. "Better?" I mumbled against his lips. Eli pressed his to mine once more before moving back.

"Much."

We hung around the shop for awhile before going over to Clyde's to eat some dessert.

"Hey, buddy," Eli said, leading me into the back room. Clyde was just sitting behind the bar, talking on the phone. He put his finger to his lips as Eli and I sat down at the bar stools.

"Who was that?" Eli asked a minute later.

"Emaline."

"Who's that?" I asked, but Eli just pushed my head gently.

"You're nosey."

"Shut up."

"You are."

"You asked him first."

Clyde just smiled at us before going to get us his newest pie. "So anyways, what did you guys do today?"

"Nothing,' I said as Eli pulled out his phone. "My parents left town, so we saw them."

"Bet that was fun," he commented dryly, probably intending the comment for Eli.

"Tons of fun," Eli responded back with about the same amount of honesty. "Hey, Clyde, you got any alcohol?"

"Why Eli, have I ever not?"

"No," I said as Clyde sat a bottle of whiskey on the counter. "No, Eli. You're not drinking tonight."

"Chill, Auden, I'm only having a little."

"I said no." I finally had to reach over and grab the bottle. "Put it up, Clyde. He's not allowed to have any."

"Fuck that." Eli snatched it back from me. "You are not my mother, Auden."

"No," I agreed. "I'm your girlfriend who is not going to sleep in bed tonight with someone that reeks of whiskey."

"Then have fun on the couch."

"Okay, well, I don't think you guys have ever made me feel more awkward," Clyde said before heading out of the back room. "I'll be back."

"No, don't leave. We are." I stood then, staring at Eli. "Come on."

"No."

"You either leave with me or you find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

"Fuck you. That's my apartment. You find somewhere else to sleep."

Even after that, I honestly expected Eli to follow me out. I really did. When he didn't, I almost turned back and went in to get the keys from him. Then I didn't care. Let him drive home. Let him crash. Let him die. He's a douche anyways.

…So twenty minutes later, when I was calmer, I called Clyde and made sure he would take Eli's keys at some point. Because maybe I'm not as vengeful as I like to think. Maybe.

* * *

"-and then she told meh that I couldn't come 'ere. Meh! Ha!"

"Shhh, Eli."

Frowning, I opened my eyes and sat up in bed. That sounded like Clyde and Eli. I figured it didn't matter if he was home or not and laid back down. Clyde'll just set him up on the couch and leave. Then, maybe in an hour or two, when he's calmed down, I'll go out there and play nurse for him like usual.

"Eli, just lay down, alright?"

"No! I'mma gonna go get in mah bed. It's my right!"

"Eli, hold on-"

Then the door opened and Eli came stumbling in, Clyde right behind him. When his friend saw that I was in there though, he just nodded at me before making his leave. It was his job to get Eli home and he had done it. The rest was all on me.

"The heck? I told you not to sleep my mah bed!" Eli came closer before tripping over something and almost falling. I groaned, getting out of bed to help him into it. When I reached out to grab him though, he tried to shove me once again. This time though, I shoved him back and, as he was so wasted, he easily fell down.

"You little bitch." He jumped back up, nearly falling right back down. He caught himself though, rushing over to me and grasping my arm.

"Eli, stop it!" I tried to jerk away from him, but he wasn't letting go this time. "You're hurting my arm. Stop!"

I don't know if it was the shrillness of my voice or he had finally grasped what exactly he was doing, but Eli let me go then. I didn't even think about it as I ran out of the apartment, grabbing my shoes from the living room. Once again, Eli didn't follow.

I wasn't sure where to go in the middle of the night, but I had left my car keys in the bedroom and as far as I knew, Clyde had Eli's truck, so I had no other way to get around other than walk. And seeing as I had no where to go, it was an aimless walk. I figured it'd be best if I just went to Heidi's, but I was slightly afraid to wake her up in the middle of the night. I knew that there was no way she would be upset with me, but I didn't want to take my drama to other people.

Turned out that I wasn't given much of an option as while I was walking down the empty streets, a truck pulled up beside me. For a moment, I wasn't sure who it was, though I recognized the truck. I still wasn't able to place it until the passenger side window rolled down and Steven was staring out it.

"Auden, what are you doing?"

He was alone in his truck, but it was probably three in the morning, so I wasn't shocked. I wasn't sure what to say to him, so I just responded with a shrug, stopping my walking. My heart had sped up a little when he first pulled up, as I wasn't sure who he was. Now that I knew though, I was somewhat at ease.

"Well, get in. I'll take you home." I hesitated long enough for him to snap, "Hurry up. I want to get home and go to bed. Worked killed me tonight."

Once I was in the truck, Eli's oldest brother took off. I sighed, looking out my window.

"So what were you doing anyways? It's late. And where's Eli?" When I still didn't say anything, he frowned a little bit and glanced at me. "Auden, are you okay?"

I swallowed hard. "Yeah. I am."

"Alright."

"But…"

"But what?"

"But don't take me to Eli's."

"Why?"

"I'm not going there."

"Then where are you going?"

I just shrugged.

"What happened?"

Again, I said nothing.

"Are you okay? Did he do something? What, Auden?"

"He just got…drunk again and…I'm just tired of it."

Steven didn't say anything again. Not even when we pulled up to his parents' house. I just followed him in, also not speaking to him. What was the point anymore?

"Auden?"

I tried to smile at Karen as I came in, but it didn't work out like I wanted. She was sitting in the living room with her husband like usual, watching TV. He was asleep, however, snorting softly. Disentangling herself from him, she came over.

"What's going on? Is it Eli?"

"We got into a fight," I told her as Steven slipped off his shoes before heading off towards the bedrooms, calling out a goodnight to his mother on the way. Then it was just me and Karen, once again.

And Joseph, as I was reminded as he made a loud noise in his sleep.

"About what?" Karen asked.

"Just…Never mind. I wasn't headed here anyways. Steven just saw me out and picked me up. I should really go-"

"You're fine here, Auden." She took one of my hands before leading me over to the couch. "Tell me what happened."

"I don't know. He just…I don't like being around him when he's drinking and he was really belligerent this time. Like he was at the party."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Not really," I whispered. "I left."

She groaned before looking over at Joseph who was still sleeping. "Joey wants to go to California, but I don't want to leave the boys when everything is going so badly."

"You guys are going now?"

"I told him I would, but-"

"You should go. Eli's grown." I looked over at her husband this time. "I'm leaving soon anyways. Pretty soon in fact."

She glanced at the television, which was showing some coverage of a recent severe storm that hit some cities two counties over. Then, when she looked back at me, she asked, "Where are you staying in Tyler?"

"An apartment with another girl. We both are interns for the same company. She was in one of my classes."

"Maybe it'll be good for Eli to be without you for a little while again."

"He wants to come with me."

"That doesn't mean he should." She reached out and grasped both of my hands, holding them in her own. "I love my boys, all of them, but don't let Eli drag you down."

I wasn't sure what to say, but didn't have to figure it out because that was when Joseph woke up. Letting out a loud groan, he looked around before his eyes fell on the two of us.

"What time is it?" He stood up slowly, stretching. "What are you doing here, Auden? Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Karen told him, keeping my hands hers. "Go to bed, Joey. I'll be there in a minute."

He just stared for a moment before giving up and walking out of the room. Karen and I sat there for a minute or two after he left, neither speaking, but her clearly thinking about something. Then, giving up on whatever it was, she stood.

"Jake's home, but I can make him sleep out here if you want and you can just have his-"

"No, I'm fine out here."

"Let me get you a blanket at least-"

"I'm fine. Trust me," I said, smiling at her. "I'm not even tired. Really."

"Come get me if you need me," she said. As she was walking out of the room though, she stopped and looked at me one last time. "And, Auden? Don't ever feel uncomfortable about coming here. I would much rather have you than a drunken Eli."

I just nodded as she left, waiting until I was sure she was in bed before turning off the television and settled down on the couch, it not being lost on me the last time I did that, it had been right after I lost Clayton. It was funny to think about how much things had changed since then. But had it been for the better?

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

"Hi, Auden!"

"Vinny, I told you not to wake her up."

"Oh, I thought you meant to wake her up. Sorry."

I sat up to find myself still in the Stock's living room. Karen was poking her head out of the kitchen while Vinny skipped into the room, headed towards me.

"It's okay," I muttered as he reached out to pat my arm. Frowning, I asked, "What are you doing?"

"You're sick, huh?"

"What?"

"When I'm sick, I either sleep with Granny and Grandpa or out here, so I can watch TV." He smiled at me. "Did Eli get you sick?"

"I told you that she's not sick, Vinny. Now come back in here and finish your cereal."

"But-"

"Now," Karen ordered before going back into the kitchen.

"It's okay, Vinny. I'll eat with you," I told him, standing.

"Okay!" He smiled at me before rushing into the kitchen. "Auden's hungry too, Granny."

"Here." I lifted him up before sitting him down in front of his bowl of cereal. "Finish eating."

"Okay," he said, watching to make sure that I was staying to eat my own breakfast. After glancing at the clock, I made my own bowl of cereal before sitting next to him. Vinny giggled, reaching over to poke me in the shoulder.

"I woke up and you were sleepin' on the couch. I wanted to wake you up, but Granny said no." He looked in at my bowl of Frosted Flakes before looking at his. "Granny and Grandpa eat old people cereal. It's nasty."

I just smiled at him. "What are you doing up so early, Vinny?"

"Me and Daddy are gonna go do our bondin' thing."

"This early? I thought you said you just go to the park?"

"Not today. Daddy's gonna go fishin' and he said I could come. Not Jordan or Taylor though. Just me." He beamed up at me. "You could come."

"I don't think so, Vinny."

He shrugged. "I wouldn't care none. And neither would Daddy."

"I need to talk to your uncle today."

"Jake?"

"No. Eli."

"Oh." He looked over at his grandmother, who was washing dishes. "See, Granny? That was nice, huh? Asking Auden to come with me?"

"It was," she agreed. "Hurry and eat. You're leaving in a few minutes. And, Auden? Can you get him ready after he's finished?"

"Sure," I said, though that was easier said than done.

"No, Auden," he complained ten minutes later. "I can get ready all alone."

"I know you can, but your grandmother asked-"

"I wanna pick my own clothes!"

"Shhh," I shushed him. We were standing in Eli's old bedroom while I tried to figure out what clothes were Vinny's and what were Jordan's. "Don't wake your brother."

Vinny glanced over at his brother before crossing his arms. "Auden, I do not need help. I'm not a baby."

"I know that, Vinny."

"Then don't treat me like one."

"I'm not trying to." I held out to him a cute shirt with Tigger on it and a pair of jeans. "Here. Wear these."

"Auden-"

"And this vest," I told him, handing that over also. "There. You'll look very cute."

"I don't wanna look cute! I'm a big boy! Not a baby!"

I held down a groan. "Vinny, please, just go in the bathroom and change."

"No." He crossed his arms. "I wanna look like a big boy."

"You will."

"You said I'd look cute."

"You'll look like a cute big boy."

He shook his head. "I don't wanna wear Tigger. That's for babies."

"Then what shirt do you want?"

"My Iron Man one. It's for big boys. Like me."

"Fine," I gave in. "Wear Iron Man."

"Okay." Now content, he took the clothes from me before running off to get changed. I glanced over at Jordan, but he had rolled over, facing the wall, so I decided he'd probably try to sleep some more and left him alone.

"Are you done getting dressed?" I knocked on the bathroom door a minute or two later. "If you are, let me come in and help you with your hair."

"Okay, but I don't think Eli will like this," a deeper voice answered before the bathroom door opened to reveal a shirtless, jean clad Jake. Then, wagging his eyebrows at me, he added, "But I think I'll like it a lot."

I made a face before asked, "Where's Vinny?"

"I dunno. Someone knocked on the door before, but I was in here, pooping-"

"Too much info, Jake."

"-so they probably went to my parents' bathroom."

"Can you go get him? I need to do his hair and brush his teeth."

"I guess so," he said, stepping around me. "Why are you over here though? Just to help him get ready for his bonding day?"

"No," I said slowly. "Eli and I…never mind. Just go get him, please."

"Sure-"

"Auden!" Vinny came running down the hall, skidding to a stop in front of me. Then he smiled. "Look! I look like a big boy."

"That's because you are one," I told him. "Come here. Let me do your hair, huh?"

"I could do it myself."

"I know. But I like doing things for you."

That excited Vinny while Jake just rolled his eyes.

After styling Vinny's spiky hair and making sure he brushed his teeth, I took him to the living room where Steven was waiting. Vinny immediately showed off his clothes, making sure his father knew what a big boy he was. Then he tried one last time to make me come on the trip before giving in. Then it was just me and Jake Stock, sitting on a couch, watching the news.

"What are you doing up so early anyways?"

He just glanced at me before shrugging. "I'm an early riser, Auden, when I'm not drunk."

Luckily, that was the extent of our intensive conversation as at that moment, Joseph came into the room, all dressed and ready for the day.

"Steve and Vinny already gone?" He asked us as he headed into the kitchen. When I nodded, he said, "Good. That's one down, two to go. And then you two, I guess."

"Not me, Father," Jake told him. "I work today. Kind of. I'm supposed to work today. I'm not sure if I can get out of it or not yet."

"Wonderful." Joseph shook his head as he went into the kitchen. When he returned, his wife was with him.

"Mmmhmm," she was saying as she came to sit down on the chair. "Have fun."

"Karen-"

"I just told you to go."

"Then why did you say it like that?"

"I just think it's odd that you went out with your friends yesterday and the day before we leave, you want to go out again. You haven't even packed yet."

"If you don't want me to go-"

"Did I say that?"

"You implied it."

She rolled her eyes before taking a sip of her coffee. "Just go. Go, have fun."

"Karen, you can go out too."

"I have the kids today. You know that Steven left with Vinny. I have the other two. And then Jake-"

"Has work," her husband finished.

"Possibly," Jake corrected. When he father sent him a look though, he said, "You know, I'll probably go, on second thought."

"Yeah, keep that second thought," Joseph told him son. I was slowly learning that he was a lot less tolerant with Jake than any of his other children. Then again, after all the crap Jake's no doubt put him through, that doesn't really shock me.

"Joseph." Karen gave him a look. "Leave him alone."

"He is a grown ass man, K-"

"Don't you curse at me, Joseph Stock."

He let out a long breath before turning on his heel and heading towards his bedroom.

"Where are you going?" Karen called after him.

"To pack my bag, Karen."

"Joseph-"

"It's what you want, so why are you still arguing with me?"

After he was gone, I sat there awkwardly next to Jake, hoping to find some kind of way to excuse myself. Then Jake beat me to it.

"Not to leave you in your time of need, Mom, but if I'm gonna make it to work on time-"

"Go get ready, Jake," she sighed, not even looking up at him as he walked away. Then it was once again me and my boyfriend's mother. This is really starting to get awkward.

"I think I'm gonna head back home," I said, standing up. Karen hardly glanced at me, clearly thinking about her own problems.

It was a long walk back to Eli's. Not really, but it felt like it. It was lonely too, considering it was summer and the town was normally filled. Given it was so early in the morning though, I wasn't shocked.

"I'm home," I called out softly as I came into the apartment. "Eli?"

I wasn't sure what I was expecting to find, but it wasn't what I found. Headed into the bathroom because I saw the door had been cracked, I frowned when I was met with resistance. Pushing harder, I heard Eli groan before probably moving, as I was then able to ease my way in.

"Eli?" I got onto my knees next to him. "It's Auden."

"Aud. Sick." He stared at me for a moment, looking pitiful and weak. Being sprawled across the bathroom floor after binge drinking will do that to you though.

"Come here," I said, frowning when I saw a pile of vomit by the sink that hinted at Eli not making it to the toilet once. "Lay on your back."

Rolling over with a groan, he just stared up at me as I went to get him a wet washcloth. As I blotted his face, he moaned, "I'm sick."

"I see." I ran the cool washcloth down his cheek. "Is everything out of your stomach now?"

"I think so," he muttered as I stroked his chin. "I wanted you to be here. To take care of me."

"Eli…"

"But I was bad. I'm sorry." He shut his eyes. "I love you."

"I know."

"I wanted you to be here. So you could kiss me. And love me. And care for me."

"Mmmhmm." I sat the washcloth down before standing up. "Come on. Get up."

"I don't wanna."

"You can do it. Come on." I reached down, grasping his hands and pulling him up. He smelled rank and really needed a shower, but I wasn't sure if he was up for that yet. "Let's go get you into some pajamas."

"I'm not a little kid," he said, making me think of my conversation with Vinny only an hour or so before.

"I know, V…Eli." I pulled him to our bedroom. "Let's just get you changed and in bed, huh? Then you can sleep some more."

"I like sleep," he mumbled as I turned to face him, going to work on undoing his belt. "Mmm, Aud."

"Calm down." I let his jeans drop. "Step out of those."

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, doing so. Then he started to pull down his boxers.

"No," I said, going over to his dresser. "Leave those on."

"However you like it."

I just rolled my eyes, pulling a pair of Spiderman sleep pants I bought him one year out. "Here, put these on."

After helping him into those and pulling off his shirt, I forced him down on the bed.

"There? All better?"

He just nodded as I tucked him in. When I headed for the door, he called out, "Wait."

"What?"

"Aren't you gonna sleep with me?"

I just sighed. "I'm going to get you some water, Eli. To drink. And some crackers. Okay? Then I need to clean up the bathroom."

He nodded slightly. "I love you, Auden."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I know."

* * *

"Stalking me now, are you, Auden?" Jake turned to Brooke, nodding his head. "She was in my house this morning. Even asked if I needed help doing my hair. I banged that once, you know."

"Jake."

He cleared his throat at my tone. "Or something like that. A long time ago."

Brooke took this all in stride while taking a sip of her coke. Once that was done, she said, "Your boyfriend was supposed to come in today."

"Yeah," I said, walking over to the counter. "I know."

"Then where is he?"

"Clyde got him wasted and knew that he wouldn't be coming to work," I told her, my tone still tight. What? She's not Eli's keeper. "I was actually looking for him. He has Eli's keys."

"He mentioned that," Jake said, reaching into his pocket. "Here. I wanted me to give them back to you so that he didn't have to deal with you. He figured you'd be mad at him."

"He'd figure right," I said, taking the keys.

"The truck's at the laundry mat," Jake told me. "Oh, and don't mention me talking to you to Eli. He thinks that I do that too much."

"Do what too much?"

"Hold conversations with you." He shook his head at me. "I think he's jealous of how meaningful our talks are."

I blinked. "Right. I'll be sure to tell him."

"You mean keep it to yourself."

"No." I jingled the keys before heading out. "I don't."

After leaving Abe's Bikes, I headed over to Clementine's, where my sister was hanging out with her mother. Heidi's shop wasn't too busy though, so she actually found time to talk with me.

"Hi, Auden," my ex-stepmother greeted.

"Hi!" Isby came around the counter to hug me. "Where's Eli?"

"He's at home."

"Can we go see-"

"Sick." I ran my hand down her head. "He's sick."

"Again?"

I nodded while Heidi shook her head. "Yes."

"Mommy, can we make Eli soup?" Thisbe went back around the counter to her mother. "So maybe he'll get better and stay better?"

Heidi sighed. "Eli needs a lot more than soup."

"You wanna make him soup?" I picked my half-sister up. "Can I take her Heidi? To go make Eli soup?"

"Do you know how to make soup?" She was currently ringing someone up and wasn't looking at me full on. "Auden?"

"It can't be that hard," I said, heading out of the shop. "I'll bring her home tonight after dinner."

"Okay," Heidi agreed, clearly apprehensive. "If you say so."

"Let's go get Eli's truck," I told Thisbe as I sat her on the ground. "Then we'll go to the store and get the stuff for the soup."

"Okay!" She grasped my hand, skipping along beside me. "Where's Vinny?"

"He and his daddy went fishing."

"Ooh." She smiled up at me. "Vinny's a boy, so he's gonna go fish. You're a girl, so you're gonna make soup."

"No," I told her, frowning. "If you wanted, you could go fishing."

"With you?"

"Not me."

"Because you're a girl."

"No. I don't like fishing."

"Could I go with Eli?"

"Sure. If you ask him, I'm certain he'll take you one day."

"Okay. I like fishes. Maybe Ralph, Vinny, and Jake could come."

"Maybe."

"I like Ralph and Vinny."

I smiled down at her. "What about Jake?"

"He's my friend," she assured me. "But I like Ralph better."

"Don't worry," I said, making a face. "We all do."

* * *

"I think you put beef in soup," I told Thisbe as I pushed the basket along. "Or maybe chicken."

"Chickens and noodles."

"Yeah, if you're making chicken noodle."

"What are we making?"

"I dunno yet." I looked at her. "Maybe-"

"Ms. Karen!" Thisbe took off, running down the aisle to my boyfriend's mother, who was currently looking over cans of vegetables. "Hi!"

"Hi, Thisbe," she said, smiling down at her. "What are you doing here, sweetie?"

"I'm making Eli soup because he's sick." Then she glanced over at me. "And Auden's gonna help."

"He's sick," she said slowly, glancing at me. "From…last night?"

"Yeah. I went and checked on him and he had gotten…sick all over the bathroom. He's at home, resting right now."

"Eli gets sick a lot," Thisbe told his mother. "So I'm gonna make him soup to help him feel better. Maybe this time, he won't get sick again."

"Maybe not," Karen agreed with a soft sigh. "What kind off soup are you making him?"

"I dunno," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "Me and Auden don't know how to make soup."

"I could help you, I g-"

"That's really not necessary," I tried. "I can-"

"Hey, Karebear." Joseph came down the aisle, holding some spices. "Are these what you wanted?"

She glanced at him before back at us. "Change of plans. We're making soup."

"What?" He still put the bottles in the cart before looking at me. "And a proper good afternoon to you, Auden, after such a terrible morning."

I just smiled weakly while Thisbe hugged his leg. "Good afternoon."

"We're making soup for Eli, so we might as well make enough for all of us for dinner," Karen sighed. "You want vegetable soup, Joseph?"

He ran a hand down Thisbe's head as she held onto his leg. "Will there be meat?"

"I just called it vegetable soup, didn't I?"

He sighed before looking down at Thisbe. "Come on, Thisbe. Let's me and you get out of here, huh? Auden and Karen can shop."

"Okay. Can we go see Vinny?"

"He might be home now, he might not. I'm not sure. We can go check though, huh?" He held out his hand to me. "We'll take the truck, Auden."

I hesitated, glancing at Karen, but she was looking back at the shelves again. Slowly, I handed over the keys.

"Bye, Thisbe," I called to her while Joseph took my empty basket, for some reason headed towards the candy aisle. Have no idea what that's about…

"I do not want to go away with him," Karen told me a few minutes later as we continued on with our shopping. "At all."

"I'd gladly trade places with you," I mumbled.

"What?"

I cleared my throat. "Eli thinks that he's coming to Tyler with me, but I think I'm going to tell him no."

She gave me a sideways glance. "Good for you, Auden. It's not your job to take care of him. You have enough going on right now that you don't need to get caught up in his drama."

"I know it's none of my business," I said a moment later. "But…are you gonna go?"

"I have to at this point." She let out a long breath. "When you've been together this long though, Auden, you reach points where you just don't want to be around each other anymore. I'm not so certain that taking a vacation specifically to be alone is such a great idea, but I can't do anything. He wants this, so I'm going to go."

I looked off as she picked out some fresh tomatoes. "I just…you guys always seem so happy with each other."

"We are," she assured me. "For the most part anyways. Still, we're going to differ on some things. It's just like when we were kids and still dating. We have our issues. We just hide them better. We've had a lot of time to practice, after all."

"He always seems so perky."

She groaned. 'Yes, I know. He's like that. Constantly. He always has been. Nothing bothers him."

"Nothing?"

She shook her head, now going to get some onions. "Things bother him, I mean, yes, but he doesn't let it show. And he doesn't expect me to let it show either. Then, once we're both all fed up, we fight. For weeks. Give it some time and this too shall pass."

I considered this as she directed me to get some bell peppers. "He seemed really excited about going to California."

"He is, I'm sure," she said, sighing. "He doesn't like me letting Steven stay here or not making Jake find a place of his own. He thinks that I baby them. And maybe I do, but they  _are_  my babies. I can't just abandon them. And if Kelly wants the kids, she sure doesn't show it. Not to mention, Jake works part time at a bike shop. He's not ready to move out yet. It's not his fault."

I wrapped my arms around myself after dropping the peppers in the basket. "I'm sure he's just ready for you guys to live on your own, without any of the guys."

"And it would be nice, being alone, just the two of us, but at the same time, it would be boring. I like having the kids live with us. I like Taylor, Jordan, and Vinny being around. I like taking care of them." Then she sighed. "It'll end soon though. Steven will have to move out eventually."

"What about Jake?"

She just shook her head. "As long as he doesn't get anyone pregnant, I'm fine with whatever he does." Then she glanced at me. "I didn't mean that as a slight towards you."

"What?"

"With what happened to…the baby."

For a second, my heart had sped up as I feared she would mention my worst mistake ever, i.e. Jake Stock. Then it came crashing back down when I realized what she was really talking about.

"Clayton," I corrected her feebly. "Her name was Clayton."

Karen just looked into my eyes. "Yes. It was."

* * *

"Hey, Karen."

She said nothing to her husband as he came out of the house to get the groceries. I sighed, getting out of the car also.

"What did you and Thisbe buy?" I asked Joseph as Karen headed into the house, leaving her husband to get all the bags. I helped him out though, as I kind of felt bad for him.

"Why, Auden, whatever do you mean?" He smiled at me as he lifted most of the bags out of the car. "Just some snacks for after dinner."

"After?"

"And some before."

I just shook my head as I headed into the house with him, only carrying one bag. "Are Steven and Vinny back yet?"

"Not yet," he said, now going into the kitchen. "Need help, Karen?"

She was trying to getting a pot out of the cupboard. It was up to high for her to reach though, as she was relatively short. No doubt Joseph had been the one to do dishes and put it out of her reach without thinking about it. Coming up behind her, Joseph got the pot for her before kissing the back of her neck.

"Stop it." She moved away from him. "Put the groceries away, but leave out all of the stuff for the soup."

He reached out and ran a hand down her arm. "I stayed today, didn't I?"

"Yeah. You did," she mumbled as Thisbe came into the room with Jordan.

"Hi, Grandma," he said, coming to hug her as Joseph went to work putting the stuff up. I helped him after making sure that Thisbe was alright.

"I thought you were next door playing?" She glanced at him. "You didn't come home while we were out, did you?"

"No. I saw Grandpa come home with Thisbe and came back home. I wanted to play with Thisbe."

"I'm very fun," she told Karen, coming to stand next to Joseph. "When will Vinny be home?"

"Soon, I think," he told her as Jordan went to get a soda. "What's up with the meat, Karen? I thought it was vegetable soup?"

She rolled her eyes. "I decided on taco soup."

"Why?"

"You said that you didn't want vegetable soup, didn't you?"

"No, but I'm glad you realized I didn't want it." He went back over to her, kissing her head. "I love you."

"Ew." Jordan went back into the living room, Thisbe taking off after him.

"Cut it out, Joey."

He smiled, realizing by that single name that all was mostly forgiven. "Sorry."

She sighed, putting some water on to boil. "Will you chop up some of the vegetables?"

"Sure." He sat down at the table. "I'll do whatever you want."

"Joey…"

I was about to leave to go find out what Thisbe was doing when the backdoor opened and Vinny came in, his father behind him, wheeling a ice chest in also.

"Granny! Grandpa! Daddy and I- Oh. Auden." He puffed out his chest. "I caught a fish. Alone. With no help."

Steven rolled his eyes while I just smiled. "That's great, Vinny. Good job."

"Thank you," he said as my sister ran into the room, having heard her friend's voice. "Thisbe! I caught a fish. I'm a fisherman. A real man."

Thisbe frowned, coming over to him. "Auden said I could fish too, if I wanna."

He shrugged, not caring. "Okay. I still caught a fish though."

"A goldfish?"

"No, Thisbe. I went real fishing. Man fishing."

She gave him a look.

"Or girl fishing too, I guess." His chest deflated as he went over to his grandmother, nuzzling her leg with his head.

"What, Vinny?" She glanced down at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm tired from fishin'."

"Then go take your nap, baby."

"I'm not a baby." He pushed away from her, but ran into his father. "Daddy, I'm tired of playing fisherman. Me and Thisbe are gonna go nap."

"No." Thisbe went over to the ice chest. "I'm not sleepy."

"You wanna see the fish?" Steven opened the ice chest for her, showing off two bass. "See that big one?"

"I caught it!" Vinny rushed over to the chest. "That one's mine, Thisbe."

She made a face, holding a hand over his nose. "Nasty. I don't wanna fish no more."

Karen sighed before looking at me. "Auden? Could you go put them down for their nap?"

"Sure," I said, taking Vinny's hand when he reached for me instead of picking him up. "Come on, Thisbe."

"I'm not tired," she assured me, though she followed along.

"I know," I said as Vinny tugged on my hand.

"I'mma nap, but I'm not a baby."

"I know," I sighed, leading them to Eli's old bedroom. Jordan wasn't in there and I was kind of wondering where he was at, but figured that it didn't matter. He was old enough that naps weren't that important.

"Take off your shoes, Vinny."

He did as asked before climbing into the bed, shoving some of his stuffed animals out of the way. Thisbe giggled, getting up there with him.

"Your jacket ain't got no sleeves," she told him.

"That's 'cause it's a vest. Huh, Auden?" He looked at me as he pulled it off.

"That's right," I agreed, taking the vest and folding it up. "Didn't he look cute today, Thisbe? Just like a real fisherman?"

"I guess so." She snuggled under the sheets. "I'm still not tired though."

"That's okay," I said as Vinny cuddled one of his teddy bears to him. "You guys just lay here and rest, huh? And when you wake up, we can take some soup to Eli, huh?"

"'kay," she said as I ran a hand down her face.

"I'll be in kitchen with Ms. Karen, alright?"

After they both nodded, I left them alone. On my way back to the living room though, I ran into Steven, who was stripping while headed towards the bathroom.

"Sorry, Auden. Forgot you were here," he said, though he continued to pull his jeans down. "Really need to get to the shower though. Reek of fish."

I stepped aside, allowing him in there as he pulled his shirt over his head. Rolling my eyes, I walked away. Joseph was still in the kitchen when I got there, though he was now at the table, scaling the fish.

"I really do wish you had done that outside."

"I gut fish in here all the time. You're just not usually home."

"Joey," she sighed as I went over to the counter to help her cut up some of the vegetables.

"Ah, Auden's back." He wagged his knife at me. "You don't mind a little fish gutting, do you, Auden?"

"No," I said though I didn't look at the poor fish. "I don't mind."

Karen just made a noise before sliding what she had chopped up into the pot. "Auden, can you open those cans of beans I set out? The can opener is right there."

"Sure," I agreed, going to do so. "Thank you for helping. I really didn't want to make Eli soup, but Thisbe really thinks he's sick."

"He is sick," his father muttered, shaking his head. "Just not in the way she thinks."

"Joey, not now, alright?"

"I'm just tired of dealing with the boys' messes."

"I know."

"Linda's fine."

"Linda's always been better off than them."

"Hmmm." He glanced at me. "How's your brother doing, Auden? I have heard much about him since he and Eli got into that disagreement."

"He's fine, I guess. We don't really talk."

"Don't pry, Joseph," his wife said.

"I'm not. I'm making conversation."

"It's okay," I told Karen. "I just haven't seen Hollis in awhile. Not since December."

"That's a long time."

"Not for us," I said, shrugging. "He was gone for years in Europe. And we haven't been getting along recently anyways."

"Karen doesn't get along well with her oldest brother."

"Joseph."

"You don't," he said, going back to his fish. "Me and my brothers? Great relationship. Karen just can't get along with anyone. Other than me."

"Don't flatter yourself," she told him, rolling her eyes. I just smiled slightly, it not being lost at me that I was slowly becoming more accustom to the highs and lows of the Stock family than my own.

After getting the soup on and ready, Karen told us that she and Taylor were going out, to get their hair done. The only thing that Joseph and I had to do was stir the soup regularly and to cook hamburger meat and put it in there at some point. Then she and her oldest grandchild were gone.

"Making soup is hard," Joseph told me as I stirred the pot. "Although, I guess the leftovers will give the kids something to eat while we're gone."

"Yeah," I agreed, sighing slightly.

"So why were you over here last night, Auden?" He was still over at the table, messing with the fish. "I'm guess it wasn't just because you missed us."

"No," I sighed, knowing that this would come up eventually. "Eli just…got really drunk and we got into an argument. I wasn't going to stay there with him being like that, so I left. I didn't mean to come here. I honestly didn't. I just didn't want to go to Heidi's. I was probably gonna just walk around for awhile until he calmed down, but then Steven found me and took me here."

Joseph sighed. "I'm really on thin ice with all of my boys right now."

"Eli's just been doing badly recently. He'll get better."

My boyfriend's father just shook his head. I finished stirring the soup and turned to leave the kitchen.

"Auden," Joseph called after me. When I turned to look at him, he just said, "We'll probably be gone on our trip when you leave for Tyler, so I just wanted to tell you that it's been nice, having you back. And you're always welcome here."

"Thank you," I mumbled, blushing slightly before going into the living room. Steven was in there now, passed out on the couch, so I headed for Eli's old room to check on my sister and Vinny.

"Auden?" Thisbe whispered as I sat down at Eli's old desk in the room. Yawning, she asked, "Is naptime over?"

"Not yet," I told her with a soft smile. "Soon though."

"'kay." She rolled over, snuggling into some of Vinny's stuffed animals. Vinny, for his part, was huddled under the blankets, snoring softly. "'cause I'm not really that sleepy."

"I know, Thisbe. I know."

* * *

"Is taco soup really good for sick people?" Jake asked as he got a bowl.

His mother gave him a look as Thisbe frowned. "Yes."

"Are you sure?" He went on. "I just always thought-"

"Shut up, Jake," I said, getting a bowl also. "Thisbe did a good job, making Eli soup."

She giggled. "I hope Eli's okay at home."

"He's probably asleep," I told her

We were all in the kitchen now, finally able to eat the soup. Thisbe's soup, as far as she was concerned. The only thing she really had done was open the bag of tortilla chips and put them in the center of the table. I gave her an A for effort though.

"You're putting salsa in your soup?" Taylor frowned at her uncle while Jake just shrugged.

"You would put it on tacos, right? This is taco soup, so what's the difference?"

Joseph sighed as he pulled out two chairs at the kitchen table. "Come here, kids."

Vinny and Thisbe immediately sat down in the seats while Karen put their bowls in front of them.

"Say thank you," I told Thisbe as I got them each juice.

"Thank you," she said while Vinny giggled.

"Auden, are you gonna eat with us?" He asked. "'cause if not, can my lizard have your seat?"

"I told you, Vinny, that that lizard is not to come in the kitchen," his grandmother reminded as his father just smile, rubbing his son's head before walking off into the living room to eat.

"Then you can stay, Auden." He nodded towards the seat next to him. "Jordan can leave."

"Hey!" His older brother sat down across from him. "I can eat where I want."

"I'll be glad to eat with you guys, Vinny," I said, taking the last seat at the table.

"It's 'cause you like me," he said, smiling.

"It's 'cause she kissed you," Jordan teased.

"No!" Vinny growled, blushing. "It is not, Jordan! Shut up!"

"You kissed him?" Thisbe frowned. "I'mma tell Eli."

"Would you all stop yelling?" Jake wagged his eyebrows. "Auden kisses a lot of guys."

"Jake," I said, knowing that my tone was enough of a warning. Karen just frowned as Joseph got two more chairs from the dinning room and brought them over to the table for the two of them. Jake and Taylor went into the living room also, leaving me with the kids and Eli's parents.

"Auden just likes me best," Vinny said, looking down at his food. "She's gonna get my mommy back."

Joseph frowned. "What?"

"Vinny," I sighed.

"I's thinkin' that since Mommy and Auden are such good friends and all that she could get Mommy to come visit more." He looked up, at his grandmother. "That'd work, huh? If she won't come for me, she'd come for her friend."

Karen sighed. "Vinny, sweetie, you don't have to stay here, you know. If you wanna go home and see your mom, all you have to do is ask."

"But Daddy and me live here now."

"No, honey, you don't." She smiled at him. "You're just visiting. When school starts, you, your brother, and your sister are all gonna go home."

Vinny frowned. "What 'bout you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you gonna stay here?"

"Yes."

"What 'bout you?" He looked at Joseph. "Grandpa?"

"I'm going to stay too, buddy."

"And Eli too? And Jake?"

"Yes."

He frowned. "Thisbe won't come."

"No," Karen agreed. "She'll start school here in Colby."

"Ralph too?"

"Ralph is Thisbe's dog. You know that your mom doesn't like dogs. He'll stay here."

"No." Vinny crossed his arms and I could tell, even after only being here a short time, that we were in the midst of a meltdown. "I don't wanna go. Mommy can come here. Mommy can live here."

Jordan frowned. "Vinny, Mom and Dad aren't together anymore."

"No." He looked up at me. "You can get Mommy to come. Right?"

I wasn't sure what to tell him. Lying would avert a problem now, but it would surely spring up again later. Though, there was a very good chance I wouldn't even be around when it did arise. I still couldn't bring myself to speak the words though.

"You had to go home eventually, Vinny."

"No, I don't!" He jumped up, stomping his feet. "I'm gonna stay here with Granny and Grandpa and Thisbe and Eli and Ralph and not you, Auden! I hate you. I hate you lots. You lied."

"Vinny, I didn't tell you-"

"I hope you die. I hope you go away and never come back! No one likes- Put me down!"

Joseph had gotten up and picked the little boy up. Around that same time, Steven came in, clearly having heard his son's fit from the other room.

"Vinny," he scolded as he came in to take his son. "What is wrong with you?"

"I hate Auden! I hate her." He was crying now, like usual. Thisbe, used to his theatrics, just glanced over at him before reaching out to grab Vinny's juice and finish it off. I made a face at her, but she just giggled.

"You shut up, Victor," Steven said as the boy wiggled in his arms. "You want a spanking? Huh? You want me to hit you?"

"Oh, Steven, don't. He's just upset." Karen stood up, coming over to take the boy. His father wouldn't let her have him though. "He doesn't mean it. You know that he can control his emotions. He's just a baby."

Steven and his parents both left the room still arguing over what to do with the little boy, who was wailing now from his father's arms. Then it was just me, my sister, and Jordan.

"I don't like Vinny," Jordan told me, going back to his soup. "He cries and then makes everything about him. It's not fair."

"Yeah," Thisbe agreed, nodding her head. "What about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"He always takes the attention away," Jordan said. "Even when we're with Mommy. It's not fair. Just because I don't cry doesn't mean I shouldn't get attention."

"That's true," I said, watching as Thisbe slurped her soup. "Vinny gets negative attention though. That's not good."

"It's still attention."

"Maybe you should talk to your dad about it," I suggested, not really feeling up to messing with anymore of the Stock family relations. I mean, just look at how my most recent attempt turned out.

I didn't get to dive any deeper into this discussion, thank God, because it was then that Karen came back, clearly upset. Thisbe didn't seem to notice and asked for more juice, but instead Karen got her water.

"Drink that. You've had enough juice for the day," she said simply as she sat back down in her spot. Isby looked ready to argue, but then thought better of it and went back to eating.

"Is Vinny coming back?" Thisbe asked.

"Maybe. His dad and Joseph are dealing with him right now."

"Good. That big baby." Taylor came into the room to put her bowl in her sink and apparently cause more problems.

"Taylor," Karen corrected with one word. Unlike with the boys, however, that didn't work out so well.

"He is. I wish he would go back home. I'm tired of listening to him cry every five minutes."

"You leave him alone," her grandmother said, shaking her head. "I mean it. You know that Vinny is having a hard time recently."

I luckily got out of this conversation when my phone rang. Excusing myself, I went out on the back porch to answer it.

"Where are you? I'm dying."

"Eli," I sighed, leaning against the porch railing. "I'm at your parents."

"Why?"

"Thisbe wanted to make you soup to make you feel better, since I told her you were sick."

"And?"

"And your mother and father were at the store. They offered to help."

"Where's my soup then?"

"We're eating it for dinner right now."

He paused. "I'll be right over."

"Eli-"

"I need to see them anyways, before they leave for their trip."

"I have your truck."

"Then I'll walk."

"Fine," I sighed, shaking my head. "Do what you want."

"I love you, Auden."

"Yeah, I know."

"Say it back or else I won't hang up," he threatened.

So, in short, I hung up on him. Huh.

* * *

"You like your soup, Eli?"

"'course, Thisbe." He was relaxing on the couch, my feet resting in his lap. "Thank you for making it."

"She didn't make it," Vinny complained. "Granny and Grandpa made it. Thisbe's a liar."

"Shut up, Vinny! You're the one that cried like a big baby for no reason."

"Hey," Karen called from the kitchen, where she was supervising Taylor as she washed the dishes as punishment for talking back earlier. "I had better not hear the two of you arguing again. You wanna come in here and do the dishes? Huh?"

"Yes," Vinny said as he and Thisbe headed in there, not realizing that she had meant it as a punishment. "We like helping."

"Yeah," Thisbe agreed. Then it was just Eli and I in the living room. Steven had left for work and Jordan went out with Joseph somewhere. As for Jake, he had disappeared, but I wasn't sure where he had gone off to. Not that it mattered.

"I like how clean your socks always are," Eli told me as he messed with my foot, I think in a vain attempt to massage it.

"That's because I actually wear a clean pair every day, unlike you."

"What?"

"Shocking, right?"

"Very." He ran a hand down my leg. "Thisbe actually make this soup?"

"She opened a bag of tortilla chips."

"So no."

"Debatable."

Eli chuckled slightly, glancing at the baseball game on the television as one of the teams hit a home run. "Hope Dad gets home soon. He hates missing a good game."

"I'm sure he's listening to it on the radio," I assured him, closing my eyes. "Is Thisbe coming home with us tonight?"

"I hope not," he said. "I want to spend some time alone."

"Can you promise me that you won't drink?"

"Auden-"

"Just for tonight?"

He got up then, leaving me behind and heading into the kitchen. I just sighed, shaking my head slightly. Pushing off the couch, I headed outside to call Maggie and complain about what a jerk Eli was being. The second I stepped out there though, Joseph pulled up, so I decided to delay the call a little.

"What are you doing out here, Auden?" Joseph asked as he and Jordan got out of the truck. "You're missing the game."

"I'm not a big baseball fan," I told him as they came up to the porch.

"She better learn to be, huh, Jordan?" Joseph ruffled the little boy's hair before heading into the house. "Gonna be in this family."

Jordan stayed out on the porch with me. "Where's Eli?"

"He's inside," I told him, sitting down on the porch steps. "Me and him are probably about to go home, actually. As soon as Thisbe finishes helping clean up."

Jordan sat next to me. "Are you leaving soon?"

"For Tyler? Yeah. Soon."

"Will it be fun? Being in Tyler?"

"I sure hope so," I told him, frowning as yelling could be heard behind us. Standing up, I went inside to see what was going on, Jordan following.

"-fucking lock on the-"

"Don't you curse in my house, boy."

"-liquor cabinet, as if I'm some kind of child-"

"I have to do that when you act the way that you do, Eli."

Joseph and his middle son were standing in the living room, arguing once again. Taylor was in the doorway to the kitchen, watching. I heard the backdoor open and close and assumed that Karen had taken the two younger kids out into the backyard. I told Jordan to go out there too before going over to Eli and grabbing his arm.

"Stop it," I said, pulling him away from his father. "Do not make another scene over here."

Eli tried to shove me off, but I wasn't letting go. Joseph was all red in the face, angrier even than the time that he and Karen had fought, not too long ago.

"It's best if you just leave now, Eli," Joseph said, clearly attempting to keep his voice down. "I mean it."

"Fine. Fine! Jake can fucking drink all he wants, Steven can cheat on his fucking wife, but I get wasted over here a few times and I get kicked out." Eli finally did break my grip, immediately heading towards the door, slamming it on his way out. I wasn't sure what to say to Joseph or Taylor so I just went into the kitchen before out into the backyard to check on my sister.

"Are they done in there?" Karen asked me the second I stepped onto the back porch. The kids were out in the yard, playing tag from the looks of it.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm sorry. When I invited him over, I didn't think-"

"That wasn't your fault, Auden. That was Eli's." She squeezed my arm before looking back at the kids. "Thisbe, I think it's time for you to go home."

"No," Vinny said as Jordan tagged him. "Thisbe's gonna spend the night."

"Not tonight," Karen told him, her voice still taut. "Grandpa and I are leaving in the morning, Vinny. She has to go home."

I thought that he would start another fight, but he didn't have a chance as Eli came into the backyard from the back gate.

"Are you coming or what, Auden? You have my keys." He frowned over at me, but didn't curse or saying anything too bad. His father? He'd fight with him, no problem. His mother though held some sort of higher ranking that Eli did not mess with.

"If you asked nicely, maybe she'd give them to you," Karen said simply before walking off the porch, coming closer. "I am very disappointed in you tonight, Eli Joseph. Cursing, fighting with your father, acting out. Me and your father are leaving in the morning. I expect you to call him tonight, when he calms down, and apologize."

"Mom-"

"He gives up so much for you boys and yet you act like he owes you something. The only thing that he owed any of you was to house you to eighteen. He did that, yet for some reason, none of you boys can get out on your own. I'm really getting tired of it, Eli. I really am."

He just stood there, staring at his mother and not saying anything. When she turned, she went over to the kids.

"Tell Thisbe goodbye, boys. She's gonna go home now."

Vinny was still upset about this, but could probably sense that right now wasn't a good time for another one of his meltdowns. Once we got to the truck though, Eli had a meltdown of his own.

"My father's a fucking prick. Telling me what I can and cannot drink. He-"

"Isby's in the car, Eli," I said as she whined in the back seat, not liking his raving. "Calm down. Do I need to drive?"

He just snorted before starting the car. I glanced back at my little sister and smiled at her, letting her know that it was okay, that Eli was okay. She was still nervous, but smiled back at me, giggling a little bit.

When we got to Heidi's, I took Thisbe inside. I didn't stay long, although I could tell she wanted me to. Jack wasn't around, but still, I had my own issues to deal with and didn't feel like delving into hers.

Back in the truck, Eli was still pissed, but wasn't saying anything. I wasn't sure how to talk to him about what had happened without coming off as attacking him. So I stayed silent, taking note of the turned down radio.

"Baby, are you mad at me?" I finally ventured as we made it into the apartment.

"What?" Eli glanced at me. "No. Why would I be mad at you?"

I just shrugged, closing the door behind us. "I dunno."

My boyfriend took a deep breath before taking a step closer to me and taking my face into his hands, holding it tightly. For a moment or two, we just stood there, staring at each other. I suddenly found myself forgiving him for last night and all the other nights he had ruined, mainly because I could tell how hurt he was by everything, just staring at him in that moment. Everything had come down on him so suddenly. I was pregnant, then I wasn't. We were together, then we weren't. He didn't ask for any of that.

"God, if you guys start making out, I'm leaving."

Needless to say, that voice in the darkness about gave me a heart attack. Eli flipped on the light switch, though we both knew that voice.

"Jake!"

"What?" There, lounging on his brother's couch, Jake was staring back at us with an incredulous look. "I was here first, you know."

"Get out," Eli said, pointing to the door. "Now."

"Eli, I just-"

"Now!"

Shooting daggers at both of us, Jake jumped up.

"Fine, you jerks. I'll be leaving then."

"Good." Eli opened the door for him and shut it behind him. I just looked at the ground, crossing my arms. When Eli came back to me, he just pulled me into a tight hug.

"Him? Jake? I'm mad at him. You? 'course not." He buried his head in my neck. "I love you."

"Eli…"

"I do. Very much." He nuzzled my neck. "I'm sorry I got mad. I just…How dare my dad tell me-"

"Eli, you know, it is kind of his alcohol. If he wants a lock on it, you can't really get mad."

Turning rigid, Eli pulled out of the hug. "What are you trying to say, Auden?"

"Nothing. God." I turned and walked away, headed towards the bedroom. "Just…I'm tired, Eli. I had to sleep on your parents' couch last night, you know. Let me go to bed, okay? Join me if you want, but please, let's not fight tonight."

I was already changed for bed and all snuggled up in the blankets when Eli came in after having spent some time alone in the living room. He was calmer now, carrying a coke with him as he went to get his laptop out.

"Mmmm." I stared at my boyfriend as he sat down next to me, leaving the coke can on the dresser, but bringing the laptop with him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Aud." He reached out, running a hand down my face. "You?"

"I've been better."

"What's wrong?" He glanced down at me before back at his laptop. "You feel okay? Or is it still before?"

"It's just…" I cuddled into his leg. "I think I'm going to go ahead and head down there."

"Head down where?"

"Tyler."

"What?"

"And, I kind of think that you shouldn't come with me. You should just stay here."

He stared. "I thought you said that that girl you're staying with said it was fine if I stayed with you guys?"

"She did."

"Then what?"

"Eli, I just don't want to deal with all that headache down there."

"What headache?" He just kept looking at me for a moment. "You mean me?"

"E-"

"Auden, I wouldn't be a problem. You know that."

"It's just better if you, you know, stay here and I go there. It's nothing against you, Eli." I kissed his leg. "I love you. It's just-"

"Shut up."

"E-"

"Don't play me, alright?" He started to get out of bed, but I held onto him. "So when are you leaving? Huh?"

"I don't know. I'm already paying rent there."

"What about your place with Maggie?"

"Her boyfriend is moving in while I'm gone. He's taking care of rent."

"She has a boyfriend?"

I shrugged. "She has a guy she hooks up with."

Eli let out a slow breath. "Well, what do you expect me to do here, while you're there?"

"The same thing you do while I'm at school."

"So basically, you're breaking up with me."

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are. You're breaking up with me again and I-"

"Eli, I'm not." I pushing myself up by my hands, staring hard at him. "I'm not, okay? I just think we need some space."

"Last time we needed space, you left me."

"I'm not leaving you." Reaching one of my hands out, I cupped his cheek. "I love you, okay? We don't have to be living together to be together. We've never really lived together. Why do you think now would be any different?"

He let out a slow breath. "I love you too."

"I'm with you, Eli. You know that." I leaned forward, falling into him as I lost my balance on my one hand. Eli didn't mind though as my kiss connected, supporting me where I fell, just like always. When I pulled away, I said, "I've never been with anyone else since that one time, that stupid one time, and you know that. So how do you think I'd ever leave you?"

Staring at me, he said, "It's been only you, too, for me. Since that summer, all those years ago."

"So what are you so afraid of?"

"You left me before, Auden. Even after everything with Clayton, you left me."

"And we can get passed that." I smiled softly at him as he held me to him. "Just like we got passed what happened with Jake and like how we're still getting passed your drinking. It's all a work in progress, our relationship, but that's the way it's supposed to be."

Eli stroked my back. "I'll miss you."

"I'll come down when I can. Just like with school."

Kissing me again, he tried to pull me onto him better, but I accidentally kicked the laptop.

"Oh no."

Eli shrugging, pulling me back to him. "I'm more concerned with you right now."

"Hold on," I grumbled, moving down on the bed to hang over it and grab the laptop. "Looks okay."

"So do you. Now get back here."

"Just let me put it up, Eli. God. We have all night."

He just settled back against his pillow, watching me as I shut the computer down before going to put it back in its place.

"What's this?"

Eli sat up as I pulled a horribly wrapped present out of his laptop bag. "Oh. That's your Christmas present."

Walking back over to him, I sat down on the end of the bed, staring at it. "Can I open it?"

He shrugged. "It's yours."

Running through my head all of the things Eli had bought me over the years for Christmas and birthdays, I didn't have that high of hopes for this one. As he didn't have that great of a job, none of his presents were ever that great. It was mostly cheap jewelry or, in a joking manner, some kind of suggestive clothing. Still, this present wasn't wrapped like a clothing box or a jewelry box. It looked like he just rolled whatever it was up in wrapping paper and taped it closed.

"I got you some bike parts," I told him, still looking at the present. "Those one's that you were wanting? For competition? That you couldn't afford?"

"Really?"

I nodded. "I still have them. If you want them, I mean."

"Yeah, sure." He moved closer to me. "Are you gonna open it?"

"Yeah," I whispered, still just staring. Slowly, Eli moved to sit next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"We can really restart after this, you know," he told me.

"Hmmm?"

"This is the last thing that we needed to get done, the last loose end from everything that happened then."

I leaned into him. "Then you want to? Restart, I mean."

"Yeah. Let's restart." He kissed my head. "It doesn't mean that we'll forget."

"Of course not."

"We'll just move on. That's what you wanted to do, right? Move passed everything?" He let out a long sigh. "Open your present, Aud."

Slowly, I began unraveling the horribly wrapped gift while Eli rubbed my arm.

"You got me a bracelet," I said, staring at it.

"It's nice, huh?" Eli grabbed it before putting it on my right wrist. "Sorry about the wrapping. I figured if you knew it was jewelry, you'd get annoyed."

"Why?"

"Because we were supposed to be saving money back then," he said, snapping the clasp in place. "I got it from a pawn shop."

"Eli," I sighed. "You're not supposed to tell me that, you know."

"Who cares?" He stared at the diamond bracelet. "I'll go ahead and tell you know, that when I propose, it's gonna be with a fake diamond."

"Shut up," I sighed, staring down at my wrist. "This is fake?"

"Completely." He wrapped his arms around me. "Looks nice though, huh?"

"Very."

"I know that you don't like jewelry though."

"Not really."

"It'll give you something to wear though, when we go somewhere nice."

"You say that every time you get me a necklace or bracelet, yet we never go anywhere."

He just kissed me, not caring about what I was saying at this point. Pulling me down with him, Eli laid back against his pillows once more. When I pulled back, he reached up and stroked my cheek.

"I love you," he whispered. "So much."

"I've told you about that."

"What?"

"You've said that way too much today."

"Have not."

"Have too." I kissed him. "You know that you have."

"Auden, we're restarting, remember? Fresh start, fresh I love you. Duh."

I just giggled, snuggling into him. "Yeah. Duh."


End file.
